I'm Sorry
by NyxAbsol
Summary: "I'm sorry." Two simple words, yet they hold such great, deep meaning. She risked it all for me. Her Pokemon, her life...everything. I stared into her eyes. She was a child, an innocent child once again. I nearly took everything from her and here she was, saying sorry. Wasn't I the one who should be saying those two words?
1. Chapter 1

Hello. My name is Red. The lone Pokemon Master who stood on for years. No communications, no talking. Just battle.

The freezing cold wind, the stark white snow. None of this would have changed, if it wasn't for her...

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt. " I commanded. The electric mouse unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity. "Pika!" The sturdy tree now tarnished the pure white snow as it lay in pieces, singed. I gave Pikachu a bowl of Pokemon food. As it ate, I looked around. Even though my surroundings were tranquil, I knew better. I had been here for years. I returned Pikachu into it's Pokeball and retreated into the cave.

I huddled under the thick red blanket of my sleeping bag as a deep rumbling noise shook the mountain. Crashing sounds could be heard. Suddenly, I heard the ear-piercing shrieks of two familiar people. Freezing, I felt if my heart had been shattered into a million pieces. I looked closely, and all I could see was a flash of raven hair which was quickly replaced by blinding white snow. The two people I loved most... gone because of me. The eerie silence engulfed me. I was devastated by the sudden loss of my parents. But no. I couldn't cry. I was Red, the trainer who was devoid of emotions. I stared into the bleak white void with glassy eyes, feeling like an empty shell.

Suddenly, I heard the muffled crunch of soft footsteps. Looking outside, I saw her. Her deep blue eyes quietly pierced my soul, and her jet black hair fell around her shoulders. She was so familiar. She stared at me. She was around eight years old, and her body was covered in multiple wounds. I didn't know what came over me. I grabbed her slender hand, leading her away from the slippery ice that she stood on.

Destiny's POV:

I didn't know who he was. He looked about eighteen, then again, maybe I was wrong. His black hair was pushed down over his eyes bye his red cap. His almond eyes were small but dark, just like... Dad. I felt the warmth of his hand as he grabbed my wrist, dragging me away. My breath caught as my foot slipped on the smooth ice. Then, I found myself on solid ground. My foot crunched as it landed on the soft white snow.

He glanced at me briefly before leaving me inside a small cave. The air self slightly musty but it was warmer. I huddled in a dark corner, terrified as he left. At least I had shelter. I dug inside my trusty backpack and found a sleeping bag, pale lilac with an Espeon and Umbreon design on it. I pulled out a red and white sphere, the only reminder of my parents, and clutched it close to my chest. I cried myself to sleep...

A drop of cool water dripped onto me and I woke with a startled cry. My body hurt like crazy from the multiple cuts, gashes and bruises and I rubbed my sore back. He hadn't returned yet, but a small bowl of steaming broth was on a jagged rock, obviously meant for me. I gulped the warm liquid down, letting it warm my freezing body. Then, I gazed around weakly, the pain still lingering. I guessed that he was training his Pokemon, from the faraway multicolored beams I could see from my vantage point.

I drifted into unconsciousness again. This time, I was woke up by a firm shake. My eyelids flew open and I saw him gesturing to me. "Your shirt." he said monotonously in a quiet, baritone voice. I rolled up my top and winced as I felt the dull stings. Then, my back felt soothed and less painful. He gave me a cup of juice. Sniffing it, I recognized the sweet scent of Oran berries, a berry that can restore health. I sipped it slowly, sighing in relief as the pain leeched out of my body. I turn around to see him turned over in his sleeping bag, fast asleep. A few medicated herbs and leaves were next to him, and some were in a ceramic bowl, ground into a green paste.


	2. Chapter 2

Red's POV:

I didn't know why I was helping her. Maybe it was the way her wide, royal blue eyes looked thoughtful and quiet, just like Mum. She was just a little girl, too young to endure this hardship on her own. At her age, I was still collecting Pokémon figurines. Anyway, I decided that I would take care of her, at least until she recovered. I had just met her, and she had already grown on me. Who knows? Maybe I could train her to become a Trainer.

It was morning again. The early, pinkish dawn light streamed into the cave, warming the cave. I got up, tiptoeing around her, who was still asleep. I could hear the sound of soft breathing as I exited. I wouldn't start training my Pokémon yet, but an early morning walk would clear my head and do me a world of good. There was a quiet patch of forest nearby... I liked this place. No one ever came here. Wasn't this always the point anyway?

I walked around, staring at the trees and greenery. What would I do with her? Who was she? Why was she here? Millions of questions clouded my mind. Shaking my head, I felt it clear, like a huge burden had been lifted of my back. I felt good and refreshed, a way I had never felt for years. I had no idea who she was, but I would take care of her like a sister and train her to be a Pokémon Master. Turning briskly, I started for the entrance, the sole purpose of this leisurely walk fulfilled. That was when I heard the branches snap.

Gasping, I stared at the entrance in disbelief. The massive figure of a collapsed Oak tree blocked the entrance completely, and its sturdy, long branches were intricately entwined together. I shoved my body against the branches but it didn't budge. _Why did I not bring my Poke Balls,_ I thought, _the only way I can get out of this forest is if that squirt miraculously has a Pokémon with her and uses it._ Yeah, _right_.

Sitting down on a fallen tree trunk, I waited. The sunlight was gone now, and the chilly gale slowly took over me. Even though I was resilient, I submitted to the cold, the iciness enveloping me...

Destiny's POV:

I let out a yawn as I woke up. The pain was still there, though the herbs had provided temporary relief. I sleepily looked around and noticed that he wasn't in his sleeping bag. Probably training or something like that. I smiled faintly as my icy fingers found the cool metal of the Poke Ball. At least she was still with me. I saw the foreboding entrance to the nearby forest, the oak tree lying across the clearing. Wait, _what?_

He was trapped inside, and his Pokémon were still in his sleeping bag. His jacket was strewn over his backpack. He would freeze to death if I couldn't get him out. I was desperate. My Pokémon, the present left behind by my dad, was my only hope. Though immaculately bred and a natural battler with strong moves, she was very young, like me. But she was his last chance. I staggered to my feet, surprisingly wobbly. Limping out, I headed for the forest.

I took a deep breath and called forth my best friend. "Dragonair, come on out!" I said. There was a blue burst of light and Dragonair stood in front of me. The majestic, serpent-like dragon was a rich blue, with shining jewels on its neck and tail. m "Nair!" It cried. Pointing at the tree trunk, I commanded, "Use...umm... Dragon Pulse!" The pulsing energy slammed into the tree trunk and a large dent was left in the wood. "Try Flamethrower!" I said. The flames engulfed the trunk and burnt it, reducing it to a pile of smoking rubble.

I saw him. He shivered from the cold, but wasn't fighting it. His head was bowed, his eyelids fluttering uncertaintly. Running over, I said, "Don't give up." I yanked him up and struggled as he knocked against me. My body flooded with intense pain but I gritted my teeth and dragged us through the fluffy snow. Gasping, I collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. "Dragon?" The blue dragon asked worriedly. "Can you help?" I asked. "Air!" I felt her warm tail coil around me and I was lifted onto her back. I pulled him up, and we travelled back of the cave. I closed my eyes and prayed, turning his head towards his unconscious body. _Please be alright, please..._


	3. Chapter 3

Red's POV:

I was nearly frozen, and was ready to die any moment. I slipped in and out of consciousness, but as I awoke once from unconsciousness, I hear three words, accompanied by a quiet, strong, lilting voice. _Don't give up._ And then, the numbness was back again, and my world fell into darkness.

When I awoke again, I had the vague feeling of lying on the warm body of a Pokemon. It was smooth and comfortable, and I noticed that we were out of the forest. So that squirt really had a Pokemon. I felt incredibly weak and numb, like I was encased in ice. I wanted to fall asleep, so I did. Closing my eyes, I allowed the smooth gentle rocking movements of this unknown Pokemon rock me into blissful darkness...

I gasped as I was lowered on the ground. She helped me into the sleeping bag, and then I heard the sound of soft echoing footsteps fade away. Weakly, I tilted my head to observe the majestic serpent in front of me. I saw the rich ocean blue of its gently shimmering scales and it's deep eyes filled with anxiety. It glanced towards the woods and back at me.

A Dragonair. I was awed by the beauty and regal air of the Pokemon. "Nair?" It said. It blew a gentle stream of gold flames towards the pile of firewood. Immediately, I felt the heat. Huddling closer, I stared into the golden light and the Dragonair, now even more beautiful bathed in the mystical light.

Destiny's POV:

"Oran, Pecha, Sitrus..." I muttered, plucking the ripe berries and filling the overflowing backpack. I picked a green herb that would help, growing in a tight nook. The blue bag was filled to the brim with various berries, herbs and plants. A pail of water in my hand, I headed back to camp. I ducked under the low entrance of the cave, which was lit up by a warm, gold light from the blazing fire in the corner. He was asleep, eyes screwed shut unwillingly, fists clenched tightly. He muttered something vague and incomprehensible.

I left him to his fitful sleep. Roasting a few berries, I munched on one to fill my empty stomach, relishing the crispy, warm yet delicate skin and the soft, sweet insides. I tipped the rest into a bowl and soaked it in some warm water to soften the crisp exterior. Then, copying him, I ground some herbs into a paste. The dark green goo was thick and rich. After cooking them, I took a tiny bite. Gagging, I nearly spat the foul mixture out. It tasted of burnt rubber. I diluted the paste with some water and squeezed Oran Berry juice into the mixture.

I tasted it. Although some of the bitter, rubbery taste lingered, the sweet Oran berry juice made up. Stirring it furiously until only a thick, dark turquoise liquid remained, I tipped the bowl's contents into a bottle.

Then, Dragonair produced a mini flamethrower that remained in the same position until I had heated the medicine. "Good girl!" I said, returning Dragonair. I sliced some potatoes and plants that had been cooking by the fire, heaping them onto two plates. Adding some spicy Tamato berry flavouring (Made by scraping of the little bits of skin onto the plate) that was so mild only a tingling, hot sensation could be felt, I ate my lunch before drifting off into the most peaceful sleep I had had for two days. No dreams, nothing. It was the only way I could forget about everything...

Red's POV:

"Mum! Dad! NO!" I screamed. It was that incident, that same heartbreaking, terrible incident. Only, I was watching it close up, but unable to do anything. I saw the fragile snow crumble to pieces beneath the chiseled heel of Mum's favourite winter boots, those same worn, chocolate brown boots. I saw those smart, shiny leather boots of Dad plummet down, down, down. They were fading quickly. Then, I heard the soft crunch of bodies against the snow, limp figures lying lifelessly.

I woke up with a start, brought back to the cold, harsh reality of the cave. The soft breathing of her was gentle. There was a bottle of green medicine and a plate of food. Gulping the bitter liquid down and felt the dull numbness start to fade away, I gathered enough strength to slowly take mouthfuls of my lunch. The spice perked me up a little and coupled with the warm water I splashed on my face, I felt rejuvenated.

Now, I tiptoed gently around her to wash up. I was almost out when a hidden twig concealed among the murky brown of the floor snapped. The crackling noise was loud enough. Her eyelids flew wide open. "Huh?!" She exclaimed. Looking at the twig, she seemed to understand. "You can continue sleeping." I said tentatively. "No, it's fine..." she said. She drank a cup of juice and ate a few roasted berries before turning to face me.

"Sorry if this is sudden, but what's your name?" she blurted, before bowing her head in apology. I sighed. There was something about this kid that I liked, and knowing each other's names would help if we were going to live together.

"Red..." I muttered, then asked, "you?"

She kept quiet for a while, her eyes deep in thought. Finally, she raised her head.

"...Destiny."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Hi! This is an Author's Note to thank everyone who read my story and for Venasaurite for reviewing! :) A lot of chapters are prewritten so my main team for Destiny is mostly decided, but I'm still not sure about a couple of Pokemon. There is one Pokemon left for her main team (preferably a water-type). Also, you can add Pokemon that are not part of her main team but will be used to! Hope for replies and please review!

NyxAbsol


	5. Chapter 5

Destiny's POV:

So his name was Red. That made things a lot easier. He looked at me, and for once, that grimace was replaced by a faint smile. "Thanks." He said. He continued, "Get up. We're going to start training." "Huh...? Ok..." I replied, stumbling to my feet. He walked out of the cave and I followed. "Dragon! Air!" My pokemon exclaimed happily. He wasn't very encouraging though, as he taught me to build up my power. Dragonair didn't like his intense training methods at all. As she launched yet another Dragon Pulse, Red's demeanor changed. "No!" He snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. "That's not her full power. You have to use every ounce of your strength like this!"

He threw a Poke Ball and a magnificent Charizard came out. Arching its neck, it released a column of red-hot flames. I felt the pressure coming on. I had to do well. I couldn't look like a fool. I couldn't be weak. The pressure was so crushing, my illness started acting up. Yes, my illness that caused me great pain while under high pressure. My chest was tight and my breathing became shallow. Collapsing on the snowy ground, I felt the excrutiating pain. It hit me, wave after wave, each one more intense than the last. My pupils dilated and I clutched my throat, curling up into a tight ball to lessen the pain. "It... hurts..." I muttered.

"M-medicine..." I continued in a daze, my mind unable to think clearly. Red sprinted back to the cave at breakneck speed while Dragonair nudged me worriedly. Just as I was about to lapse into blissful unconsciousness, I gave a final command. "D-dragonair... Dragon Pulse." "Nair!" my Pokemon said, more determined now. It charged up a large blue sphere, using all of its energy. I could see that ball growing larger and brighter. Just as she was about to release it, Red arrived. "Dragon!" she cried, the sphere exploding into a giant blast of electric blue energy. The power consumed the tree, ripping it into pieces. My eyes fluttered close but just then, I could barely register the sweet pink medicine flowing down my throat. The pain finally subsided and my head cleared.

"That's all for today." He said gently, helping me up. "You did great." "Nair!" Dragonair chimed in. I hugged Dragonair, gingerly fingering the delicate silver pendant that had a clear, perfect crystal, tinted rainbow in the light. Me and Dragonair both had one. "Love you, girl..." I murmured as I buried my face into her warm body. She snuggled into me, and I could feel the softness of her fluffy, snow-white, winglike ears. Red looked at us, his hard stare unwavering, as if yearning for something. Those black eyes boring into me kind of creeped me out.

2 years later... (From here it will be mostly Destiny)

"Can't believe I'm finally 10!" I whispered as I ran the soft brush over Dragonair's already glistening scales. "This is amazing!" I would finally be a trainer, and the countless gruesome training sessions for a long two years would pay off. "Let's go for a walk, Dragonair!" I said, brushing her one more time. She enthusiastically moved behind me. I admired my home, the trees that made the woods. I remembered to take my medicine before heading off.

It was a "sunny" day, as warm as you could get in Mt. Silver. The soft rays of sunlight was warm on my face. I had gone online shopping for a new outfit. My previously shoulder length raven hair was now long and fell to my back. I had on a emerald green polo shirt, a black skirt and black flats with a silver gem embedded on the tip. Dragonair still had that good-luck pendant, and mine was hung around my neck. Red was still fast asleep. I skipped merrily along the familiar, snowy path.

I took in a deep breath of warm air. I would miss this place so much. The trees, the peace, and Red. But I had been yearning to be a proper Trainer for ages, and I would definitely visit. I was basking in old memories and was so unaware of my surroundings, I was startled when I bumped into soft fluff. Looking up sharply, I saw the creature's dark midnight-blue face, those red eyes staring at me. It had such wonderfully soft, snow-white fur, and a scythe-like horn and tail. Its dark blue jewel was perfectly oval shaped and seemed to sparkle softly in the early light.

I dredged up some old information in my mind. _"Absol, the Disaster Pokemon."_ I couldn't remember the rest clearly, but it was something about appearing before an imminent disaster. But I didn't care. This Absol looked young but strong. It was so beautiful and majestic. That made it so much more upsetting when I saw the trickle of dark red blood tainting its perfect white fur. "Sol!" It growled, lunging forward. It flinched for a split second before violently striking out with its horn, which was glowing blue.

"Nair!" Dragonair wailed in pain. She had a long scratch across her face. She snarled threateningly before launching a Flamethrower. "No, girl!" The Absol, though injured, was pretty skillful. It nimbly evaded the attack before using another Night Slash. Dragonair was really mad now. She glowed a light blue and the light was forming into the shape of a dragon. My mouth went dry. "Is... that..." Dragonair flew at the Absol at such incredible speed that the poor thing had no chance to react. I finished my sentence. "Dra-dragon Rush..."

Absol had been struck on the exact spot as it's wound. The thin trickle had increased to a stream of blood flowing from her open wound. It collapsed on the ground, it's eyes glazed in pain. "Absol!" She said, looking at me pleadingly. Dragonair looked guilty. "Nair nair Dragonair!" She cried." I returned Dragonair and tossed a Pokeball at the injured Absol. It barely shook before I heard a click and a faint "ding".

I sprinted back to the cave, where Red was groggily having his breakfast. "Hey!" He said, "you're finally 10! Here's your break-" "Red, this is an emergency. I caught an injured Absol. Do you have any Potion?" I interrupted. He frowned and dug through the supplies. "Sorry, no. Send it out and use some herbs or berries." He suggested. I pressed the button and Absol gazed around weakly. "Sol..." It said. I rummaged around for some Oran berries. Then, I noticed that Absol felt particularly warm. It could hardly mouth at the berries.

I mashed up the berries before feeding them to Absol, who found it easier. However, the fever did not go away. I prepared a bowl of water and laid a soaking wet cloth across her forehead. "It's not much use. She needs stronger medicine. Go find a Pokemon Center." He said, avoiding eye contact. I stood up, a lump forming in my throat. He was my only "family" for two years. I forced out the words.

"Bye, Red."

He smiled, but I could see the glimpse of tears in his dark eyes. I walked out, ready to head into the world. My two Pokeballs were in my bag, and I broke into a full-out sprint, trying to leave my past behind. That was when a gloved hand grasped me and yanked me into the truck. I landed in total darkness, the room illuminated by only a small candle. I gasped in pain, as I felt metal digging into my wrists. I stood up but fell back down again. I was terrified. The spiked metal carved its way deeper into my flesh, making me cry out in pain and let out a hysterical scream.

"Red! Help!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys, sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I have exams now:( so I won't be updating regularly**

Red's POV:

I recognised that oh-so familiar voice, the fear and terror evident. Stumbling to my feet, I raced out, ignoring the branches snapping under my feet, dodging the thick trees that barricaded my path. The wind roared in my ears, my feet pounding on the ground. "Destiny!" I called, and a muffled scream could be heard in return. That made me run even faster, the flames of rage spurring me on. Soon enough, I caught sight of a large helicopter in the air, a red "R" emblazoned across it. "Team Rocket. Give back Destiny," I demanded as two Grunts stepped out. "How about your Pikachu first?" they smirked, sending out two Golbat. "No," I replied coldly, sending out the yellow mouse. It blasted the two Golbat with a thunderbolt.

As their Pokemon fell to the ground, the grunts snarled and said, "Retreat for now," they leaped back into the helicopter and the doors slammed shut. An agonized groan came from inside. "Destiny!" I cried, the tears softening my vision. The helicopter sliced through the air, quickly vanishing in the thick fog. I could only watch helplessly as yet another one that I loved was taken away from me...

Destiny's POV:

I hated the icy cold of the freezing metal cuffs digging into my hands and legs. I hated the black tape across my mouth. And I certainly hated team Rocket. I looked around, trying to find something. There was nothing.

_Of course!_

I fumbled around my bag, gritting my teeth at the strain caused by the spiked black steel. Firmly wedged between two books was the Pokeball. I yanked it out and pressed the button. "Nair-" "Shhh, girl, use Flamethrower." I signaled." Dragonair took a deep breath and shot a small fireball at the shackles binding my wrist. After about a million fireballs, the infinitely strong shackles gave way. Grinning, I fingered the cuffs around my ankles before finding a hidden panel n the inside of a small, innocent-looking spike. I tapped it and shifted the connecting parts around before it collapsed to the ground.

I ripped the tape off and scouted for a exit. Even so, how were we supposed to get off? I made my way over to a black door, forcing it open. I stifled a scream as I was nearly blown away by the winds. "Dragon!" my friend cried. Her blue tail shot out and wrapped around me tightly. I saw a large hidden door next to the exit and shifted it, finding a a parachute-plane thing. It looked cool and high-tech. I returned Dragonair and climbed inside, finding myself surrounded my walls of panels, levers and buttons. So I did the only thing I knew.

I pressed the button labelled "Emergency Descend".

The plane sliced through the air as it barreled towards the ground. My eyes stung and filled with tears, my head ringing. "Gah!" I felt a jolt as the plane hit solid ground. Climbing out of the lump of searing hot metal, I stood up. I was surprised when the sleek jet folded into a box. Shrugging, I picked it up and shoved it in my backpack. I read the printed words across the faded wooden sign, painted green and partly chipped. "Pallet Town...?" I muttered. It brought back strange memories. They were dim and shadowy. _"We're leaving Pallet Town, dear," "But why? It's a nice place!" "Too many memories of him. I want to go somewhere new." "Well sweetie, it makes sense. How about New Bark Town?"_ the memories faded abruptly.

I had a dim, blurry picture of this small town in my mins for some reason. I seemed to know where to go, the tapping of my feet as it struck the cement ground calming me. My feet twisted automatically along the winding paths as I took in the brick cottages and the sweet scent of flowers. Finally, I arrived in front of a building that didn't look as warm or homey as the others: Oak's lab. I knocked on the door tentatively. "Hello?" a gentle, deep voice said.

The man had light brown hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes that crinkled when he smiled pleasantly. He wore a white lab coat over his red shirt and baggy brown trousers that was held in place by a belt. "Hi, are you Professor Oak? I'm here to become a trainer." I mumbled. "Why I certainly am, come in dear, you look pretty tired." he said kindly.

I followed him in, trying to leave behind my past, to look forward to the future.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been _so _long since I had been in civilization. I sat down on a soft velvet armchair and took a sip of the aromatic, warm tea. "Now, what's your name and where are you from?" he asked warmly. "D-destiny Lee from New Bark Town, but more recently Mt. Silver..." I mumbled. Professor Oak's eyes widened and he seemed to be considering something.

Then, his eyes grew warm. "Let me get you your trainer pass, Pokedex, Poke Balls and Starter Pokemon." he said as he flitted around the lab getting the said items. He passed a purple and black shiny device, a card and five Poke Balls. "Now, new trainers can choose one of three-" he started but I cut him off. "I have a Pokemon, two actually one's injured. Could you treat her?" Noticing the panicked look in my face, he nodded. "Lucky Nurse Joy is visiting today. Send both Pokemon out." I tossed the two Poke Balls into the air. There were two simultaneous bursts of bright blue light and Dragonair and Absol appeared.

Dragonair looked curious and stared at the professor while he gawked in amazement at the rare dragon. Meanwhile, Absol was in terrible pain, and her body was burning hot. It stumbled and fell, woozy with pain. I rushed over to support it. "NURSE JOY!" he yelled. Absol moaned in pain while Dragonair rushed over to help her friend. Nurse Joy walked into the lounge, her face paling when she saw Absol. I looked at her pleadingly and she nodded grimly. She examined the poor Pokemon and typed in some notes onto a laptop, before hitting some buttons. "It's her wound. It's badly infected." Nurse Joy explained.

was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled into another room. I saw my precious Pokemon lying on a table, an oxygen mask on its face and several tubes attached to it, connected to whirring and flashing machines. She was perfectly still, her eyes closed. My mouth went dry at this point. Nurse Joy was doing _something_ to the wound, and I could see the blood stained cloth and several tools. There were syringes of different liquids and she injected a clear liquid into Absol's body. I shuddered in horror when Nurse Joy flipped the fur upwards, revealing the gaping wound.

A jagged patch of fur and skin had been torn away, about ten centimeters in diameter. It was right down to the bone, bloody and gory with bits of raw flesh clinging onto the bone. I cringed. After a few hours, Nurse Joy walked out of the room. I jumped to my feet. "Is- is..." she smiled a little. "Absol will be fine, but is still terribly weak. Stay here for the night. Absol should be okay to go , but she would still be weak. That Pokemon is incredibly resilient to have survived this. I won't be surprised if she recovers quickly." I nodded my thanks and rushed over. Just then, Dragonair slid into the room.

I could hear Absol's painful, shallow breaths and she drew in oxygen. After a while, it open it's eyes, blinking. "Absol...sol..." it groaned. It smiled faintly at me and Dragonair, it's eyes still glazed over with pain. It struggled to sit up, and I helped it to lean over a firm pillow. Dragonair said something but Absol shook her head, mumbling something in return. I checked the tight white bandages wound around the injury before hugging both my Pokemon. "We'll grow stronger together." I said. They both shouted their names in agreement.

The next day, I woke up Dragonair and Absol, who had been sleeping in an opposite room. Returning both of them, I shouted thanks to Professer Oak before sprinting out of the lab, enjoying the sunshine on my face

10 days later

"Vulpix, flamethrower!" I ordered. My latest addition (along with an Eevee) to the team sent out a scorching blast of flames. Erika's Gloom collapsed on the battlefield, swirls in its eyes. "Gloom is unable to battle, so Destiny wins!" hugged Vulpix as it jumped happily into my open arms. "Too easy!" I muttered, adding the Rainbow Badge to my velvet Badge case. Thanking Erika and rushing out of the Gym (Too many plants), I looked at the map. "Hey!" I jumped to see a pretty redhead with fashionable clothes. Her glossy russet red-gold waves curled slightly and the tips and bounced around her shoulders. She wore a magenta shirt and a dark orange coat and skinny jeans. She had on scruffy, old red Converse sneakers. She flashed a smile. "I'm Erika." I frowned. "Erika, like, Gym Leader-" "Argh! Why does everyone get me mixed up with the Gym Leader? I'm a coordinator. I saw your battle and it was amaze. Wanna battle with me?" she asked excitedly. Shrugging, I took out a Poke Ball and she took out one with some sort of capsule on it.

"Pachirisu!"

"Eevee!"

My first non-official Gym battle.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, sorry for the late update... anyway, the battle scene here is really short as it was the first one that I wrote, so please review!**

* * *

The squirrel-like Pokemon appeared in a flash of blue sparks and glittery red stars. "Chipa!" It said cutely. "Spark!" Erika ordered, and Pachirisu charged at us, crackling with electricity. I nodded and Eevee and it sized up the Pokemon. Just as Pachirisu was about to slam into Eevee, the fox (cat?) like Pokemon nimbly jumped. "Iron Tail!" I cried, as Eevee's tail glowed and turned to metal. It swung it's tail at the opponent, slamming Pachirisu into a nearby wall. "Dig," I continued. Eevee disappeared into the ground and Erika smirked. "Electro Ball into the hole," She said. I smirked back. Eevee rushed out, it's fur tingling with sparks. It knocked into Pachirisu. "Finish with shadow ball!" The foxlike Pokemon charged up a dark indigo ball of energy before releasing it. Pachirisu collapsed heavily onto the floor, fainted. Returning her Pokemon, Erika smiled.

"Not bad, you're strong. Maybe I'll travel with you. That OK?" she asked casually. "Sure, it's been pretty lonely by myself!" I said. She grinned and joined me. "Then introduce me to your Pokemon," She said, tossing four more spheres into the air. She had a Pikachu, a Delcatty, a Charmeleon and a Buneary along with Pachirisu. They all shouted their names in unison and looked at me curiously. I took out my three Poke Balls and pressed the buttons. Dragonair, Absol, Vulpix appeared while Eevee jumped on my shoulder. "These are my girls." I said. Erika nodded approvingly. We returned all our Pokemon and I heaved a rucksack of items onto my shoulder. We walked out of the city, with Eevee still on my shoulder for some reason and Buneary on Erika's head. The two Pokemon were chattering happily as we walked on. "Have you ever thought of dressing your Pokemon?" she inquired. When I shook my head, she took out a deep purple silk scarf and tied it around Eevee's neck. I then noticed that Buneary had a cheery yellow and pink vest on.

"Buneary, near near y." it said, smiling. "Ve Eevee ve!" Eevee replied. We stopped at a small clearing for lunch. We didn't really have a lot of food, so while Erika dug in the rucksack for signs of food, I, having lived in the wild, scoured the nearby trees and fields for berries and plants. I came back with a huge, overflowing basket of plants, berries and fruits while Erika had found some squashed sandwiches and half a can of Pokemon Pellets. I emptied the can into the nine bowls, and mixed in berries and bits of apples and potatoes. The Pokemon rushed over from where they were playing and started devouring the food. Vulpix, Eevee and Buneary were the youngest of the group and were instant best friends. We let them play around for a while more, except from Absol who was still injured. "Here, girl," I cooed softly, trying to coax her to take her meal of vitamins and Oran berries that Nurse Joy gave me. She lipped up the food and I gave her a spoonful of thick white medicine. "Two more days and you can battle, I promise." I said.

"The next Gym is, uh, lemme see..." Erika was checking her orange digital map. "Oh! The Fuchsia Gym in Fuchsia City! The gym leader Janine is a freaking _ninja_ and uses Poison types." she exclaimed. "Ninja... Wow!" I said. Since Absol was going to recover soon, I would use it in the gym, along with either Dragonair or Eevee. "Umm, what's that?" I continued, pointing at a zebra-like Pokemon. It was adorable and was staring at us with its big blue eyes. I held up my Pokedex. It flashed as it whirred, and a picture of the same zebra Pokemon appeared. "_Blitzle, the electrified Pokemon. __When thunderclouds cover the sky, it will appear. It can catch lightning with its mane and store the electricity." _"Dragonair!" I said. "Use Dragon Pulse." The blue energy nearly hit Blitzle and grazed its side while Blitzle jumped and dodged. It shot towards Dragonair with incredible speed and pummeled Dragonair with a powerful Double Kick. Dragonair shook her head violently. "Now use flamethrower and aim for the tree!" I said. Blitzle jumped to the right again and the Flamethrower scored a direct hit.

Blitzle's coat was singed and smouldering. It stumbled back and used Spark, and Dragonair whimpered in pain. "Use Dragon Rush!" I shouted and Dragonair slammed into Blitzle. It teetered around, woozy with pain. It's mane sparked with electricity and it charged up a huge ball of energy. It concentrated hard and the sphere was growing bigger and more powerful. It's neck was slick with sweat and it's teeth were gritted. "Now's your chance Dragonair, use Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. Just as the Pulse reached Blitzle, the ball of energy exploded and formed a shield around Blitzle, humming with electricity. The poor, exhausted Pokemon collapsed on the ground, fainted, and the shield melted. I tapped it with a Poke Ball and it shook three times before clicking in conformation.

I used a Revive and Super potion on my Blitzle. "Umm, Destiny?" "Yes?" What is this?" Erika held up a small metal wafer of steel. Horrible memories came rushing back, and my vision spun. I was shaking in fear, and the iciness and pain of those spiked chains felt almost real now. My illness acted up again and I quickly downed a spoon of medicine. I sat down on the grass and curled into a tight ball. "Destiny! Are you OK?" Erika exclaimed. I took a deep breath and my past came pouring out.

When I finished, my face was wet with tears. But pouring all this out, letting it go, brought me a type of comfort. Erika embraced me in a tight hug, whispering soothing words into my ear. "Thanks" I murmured softly, standing up and brushing dirt off my skirt. She smiled and clicked open one of my. Poke Balls. Vulpix jumped onto my shoulder and nuzzled me, her six exquisitely curled tails winding around me. Naturally, being a fire type, her fluffy body was warm and fuzzy and flooded me with warmth. I cradled Vulpix as it nestled in my arms and closed her eyes blissfully.

Just then, as Vulpix jumped down, her nose bumped against Erika's pouch. She started glowing white and her form was rippling. "Oh my god, I forgot I had a fire stone!" She sqeaked. "But- a fire stone makes Vulpix..." I said as Vulpix changed shape and grew bigger. The blinding white light faded and instead of the giant almond eyes, I stared into smaller red ones. "Evolve..." I finished.

The Pokemon, now much larger, stared at me with her hypnotic, unmoving red eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

"Tails? Ninetales?" my pokemon said in a much more matured voice. Vulpix, now a Ninetails had sleek, pale creamy gold fur and a ruff. It's legs were long and lean and it stood with such poise and beauty. It walked with such smoothness. Gliding over to me, I shrieked as Ninetales lifted me up and tossed me onto her back. She bounded forward and I started to enjoy the smooth ride. I fashioned a bridle out of tree vines and tapped Ninetails on. She races forward and in no time, I was out of the forest. A few minutes later, a very tired looking Erika caught up, panting. I stroked Ninetail's silky fur and returned her. "Next time, I'm riding that Pokemon." Erika moaned. "Blitzle!" I said, and my latest member looked up at me defiantly. It snorted reluctantly as I said, "We're going to do some training." I said. I stomped its tiny hooves on the concrete floor, deliberately lifting each striped leg higher than necessary.

"Okay, try Spark on that rock!" I commanded. Blitzle looked at me with a withered expression on his face and he marched up to the rock and bucked at it hard with a Double Kick. "Um, never mind. Now use Flame Charge!" I said, but Blitzle just used Spark. He looked quite pleased with himself. "No, Blitzle!" I snapped. We tried for the rest of the afternoon but Blitzle either ignored my commands or attacked me. It was disastrous and I ended up with a smoldering shirt and skirt. I lost it and for the first time in forever, I yelled at him. "Why won't you just listen! You're defiant and a pain to deal with! Just get away... leave me alone!" Blitzle looked shocked, both literally and metaphorically, he had set him self alight with electricity. He stood stock still, amazed that I had scolded him, even screamed. His big blue eyes watered and filled with tears, and he lowered his head in guilt before abruptly turning one hundred and eighty degrees and galloping off.

That tiny zebra had a lot of speed. He raced off, the grass smoking in his wake. "Wait, Blitzle! I'm sorry, I really am! Come back. please!" I pleaded. Erika had a contest the next day and was training at the indoor stadium. I would be all alone. Blitzle was already nowhere to be seen so I sent out Ninetails. "Blitzle ran away, Ninetails. Can you help find him?" "Tails!" The elegant gold fox ran forward, sniffing around. Suddenly, Ninetails headed straight for a river. "Water, Ninetails!" I said but Ninetails leaped over skilfully and continued. "Is Blitzle this way?" I asked. Ninetails nodded and her nine long tails whipped the weak Oddish in her way. Finally, she skidded to a stop.

Blitzle was caught in the middle of a Rhypherior, an Onix and three Dugtrio. They were glaring at him, who snorted nervously but pawed the ground and charged into them with Spark. However, the ground types didn't take damage. They just got even angrier and attacked back with Earthquake and Dig. "Zle Blitz!" It cried in pain as it was struck to the ground. Blitzle clawed his way up and cloaked itself in flames and slammed into the Pokemon with Flame Charge before using Double Kick. The Pokemon shook their heads and the Dugtrio were out for the count. However, the Onix slammed its giant tail into the poor Pokemon, who was knocked back down.

"Rhypherior!" the other Pokemon roared, using another Earthquake. "NO! STOP!" I screamed as Onix used Rock Slide and Blitzle neighed in pain. These Pokemon were high leveled and angry-very dangerous. They glowered at me. Rhypherior's arm glowed blue and Onix's tail turned a blinding white. I shielded Blitzle, expecting to feel the searing pain, but instead, there was a spark of electricity. I looked up, and saw the same electric shield around us. Blitzle pressed open its eyes, and formed another huge ball of electricity. Instead of it exploding this time, it crackled and smashed into the stunned Pokemon. Rhypherior looked exhausted and Onix was still paralyzed, so I returned Blitzle and made a run for it.

Blitzle's eyes were closed, its body battered with serious injuries. I found some Potion and sprayed it on the more minor wounds, clearing them up. Then, I took out the glossy first-aid kit that Erika had newly bought. I sprayed some antiseptic and winced inwardly as Blitzle groaned in pain. Then, I rubbed ointment onto its bruises and fed it some of the special concoction that Red had taught me to make for serious injuries. It was made by using some rare Revival Herbs and dissolve them in water, Oran and Sitrus Berry juice. Then, I had to mixed some other herbs and berries and stimulate it with electricity and psychic powers. Luckily, Red had given me a big container of it for only absolute emergencies so that it wouldn't run out soon. He said nectar would help too, so I gathered a small bottle of the sweet, sticky liquid. I mixed it into the greenish herbal medicine and cooled it with some cold water. Then, I fed Blitzle a small bottle of it and it sucked at the mixture.

Blitzle was conscious but dazed now. He still had several scratches and wounds but looked much better after I had treated him. I fed him some mashed fruit (Watermelon, apples and Oran Berries)to let him regain enough strength to walk. We made our way slowly to the Pokemon Center. Luckily, Blitzle would heal fast after Nurse Joy administered an injection and some medicine. "Blitzle, Blitz Le." It said guiltily. "It's okay." I reassured him, as he hobbled out of the room. Erika was waiting for us in the lounge, where she was sewing an outfit for her Delcatty. When I returned, I saw the purple and cream cat posing, wearing a brand-new deep red velvet robe with snow-white lining. The drawstrings had little white fluff balls hanging on it.

Erika grinned. "I'm ready to rock this contest."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi...it feels like I haven't updated in forever! This is my first contest scene, so the appeals are somewhat...bad. Oh well, Please review!**

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"Delcatty, time to shine!" Erika's Pokemon appeared in a burst of purple hearts and it did a somersault, landing gracefully. "Use Calm Mind and then Shadow Ball!" she commanded. Delcatty closed her eyes before releasing a crackling indigo ball straight into the air. It was about to fall back down on Delcatty and Erika shouted, "Delcatty, Charge Beam!" "Catty!" A strong electric beam was fired at the Shadow Ball, making it hover in the air and glowing. It merged with the Shadow Ball and became a glowing yellow and purple sphere of energy. "Sing!" Delcatty glowed and opened her mouth, hypnotic, melodious notes floating into the air. Everyone screamed and covered their ears. The music notes surrounded the ball and danced around it, making the flashing ball seem like a disco ball. Delcatty propelled it around with Charge Beam, calming everyone with the beautiful music. It whizzed around the contest stage before returning to the middle, exploding into millions of purple and yellow sparkles that floated around Delcatty, who was posing elegantly. Her velvet cape seemed to glitter as the sparkles fell gently into the soft folds.

Erika got a stunning 28 for her appeal and I crept away as she left. I had a little surprise planned. I changed out of my plain clothes for a simple knee-length black satin dress with an indigo belt. Tiny silver rhinestones decorated the edge and I let my hair crash down to my back, pinning it in place with a silver and purple amethyst clip. I completed the look with dark purple flats. "Hey Destiny! Why are you all dressed up?" Erika asked curiously. "Hmm? Oh, I'll tell you later, I need to go somewhere now." I said absentmindedly as she shrugged, a bewildered expression on her face. I rushed out of the waiting room, fitting the blue capsule onto my Poke Ball.

"And our next entry is a real wild card, a newbie who just entered, please welcome Destiny Lee!" Erika's jaw dropped open in shock and her eyes widened in amazement. I ran out onto the stage, my heart palpitating wildly. _I hope Erika likes this. Or...she may just see me as another rival..._ I thought hesitantly. "Dragonair, that's your cue!" I cried, tossing the Poke Ball into the air. A silver frosty spiral curled its way out of the Poke Ball, shining softly in the light. A single snowflake burst into sparkles, revealing Dragonair. Her two jewels shone insanely bright, sparkling with energy. "Show them what you've learned! Water Pulse!" Dragonair cooed softly before releasing a sphere of water into the air. "Now, Dragon Dance!" I said. Instead of the usual Dragon Dance, Dragonair glowed as an aura surrounded her and she danced gracefully around the stage, and the beautiful ripples of water seemed to be following her too. Dragonair set off an extra-powerful Dragon Pulse that exploded into rainbow sparkles and fascinated the audience. "Nair!" she cried, bowing to the audience and the judges and sending a cool wave of tiny water droplets around the whole arena.

I received a score of 26.5, not that bad of a score. "How on earth did you do that? That round was killer!" I had barely managed to scrape by, coming in near the bottom of the second round competitors.

"Now, Destiny versus Erika!" The emcee shouted.

"Charmeleon, time to shine!"

"Blitzle, that's your cue!"

Charmeleon appeared in a burning vortex of flames while Blitzle jumped out of a blue lightning bolt. "Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage and then Fire Punch!" The orange dragon strikes the blue energy towards Blitzle, surrounding him with flames and blue energy. "Dodge with Agility," I said simply as Blitzle's speed increased. Both our points went down a little. "Blitzle, Spark!" I said. The zebra materialized next to Charmeleon and used Spark. Erika's points went down. "Charmeleon, use Double Team and Flamethrower!" Blitzle looked around in confusion before neighing a pain and surprise as it was hit with the fire move.

My points dropped drastically and was lower than Erika's. "Blitzle, double kick!" I commanded as Blitzle striked out at Charmeleon in style before wheeling around and slamming into Charmeleon with his back hooves. Charmeleon stumbled back! Erika's points was equaling mine. We looked at each other, knowing what the opposition was thinking.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"

"Blitzle, Electro Ball!"

The blast of white-hot flames collided with the huge electric ball, covering the arena with a thick layer of smoke. When it finally cleared, I saw Blitzle lying on the ground, swirls in its eyes. "Blitzle is unable to continue. The winner is Erika, and therefore, she wins the Fuchsia Ribbon!" Erika beamed happily as she skipped forward with Charmeleon to receive the ribbon. Charmeleon was smiling and danced around, crying its name. Suddenly, it glowed and grew much bigger, sprouting large dragon-like wings. "Charizard!" The mighty dragon roared its name, shaking the whole arena. "Well done Charmeleon, I mean Charizard!" Erika squealed as she threw her arms around her newly evolved Pokemon.

Charizard seemed to smile as she stuck the ribbon in her case.


	11. Chapter 11

"Welcome, challenger!" I presume you want a Gym Battle?" said the Gym Leader Janine as she hung upside down. Oh yeah, ninja skills. I nodded. "Very well," she said, somersaulting effortlessly an landing nimbly on her feet. We proceeded to the battlefield, plain but spacious. "Each trainer will use three Pokemon..." Argh, that speech was so boring. I took out a Pokeball and smiled. "It's finally your turn, girl." Janine sent out a tough looking Ariados and I sent out Absol. Her muscles were tense with excitement and her red eyes glowed happily. "Ariados, use String Shot," Janine started as Ariados shot a length of sticky thread towards Absol. "Dodge," I commanded, worrying slightly that Absol's injury would act up. However, the star that she always was, Absol lithely evaded the multiple shots that Ariados tried to hit her with. "Swords Dance," I said. Swords floated around Absol as her attack power increased. "Ariados, quick, Night Shade!" Absol was hit but managed to withstand the hit. She used yet another... and another swords dance. "Now, girl, Night Slash!" I said as Absol's scythe-like horn glowed its familiar, deadly blue. It charged towards Ariados and slammed her horn into it at full force.

Ariados took the hit of a Swords-Dance-Powered Night Slash and it was sent flying into a wall, fainted. Absol smirked but her eyes were gentle. "Return Ariados. You did a great job. Now, go Weezing!" The ball-shaped Pokemon glared at Absol. "Double Hit!" Janine yelled. Weezing, having been trained by a ninja, zipped straight at Absol and struck her twice. Absol shook her head and looked a little tired, but she was still standing. "Aerial Ace!" I countered as Absol jumped into the air as if she was flying and smashed into Weezing. Now, both Pokemon looked tired. However, Absol looked... Poisoned. Her fur was tinted greenish purple and bubbles occasionally rose into the air as Absol gradually weakened. "Ugh, it secretly used Toxic... she's good!" I muttered. Janine was certainly the most skilled of the Gym leaders so far. "Finish this, Absol! Night Slash!" I cried desperately, hoping to end this before the situation got nasty. "Head on, Weezing! Use Double Hit!" Janine yelled too. Both of the Pokemon collapsed on the floor, but Absol took the extra damage from Poison and fainted.

"Absol, return," I said. "Great job for your first battle, we'll win this! Go Dragonair!" "Nair Dragon!" The blue dragon cried. "Weezing use Sludge Bomb!" Janine commanded as Weezing shot a sphere of purple slime straight at Dragonair. "Dodge!" Dragonair just managed to avoid it. "Toxic," Janine said, smirking. "I know how to counter that now. Dragonair, Water Pulse," I countered. Dragonair spun around at an incredibly fast speed as a veil of swirling water deflected the poison. "Now, Dragon Pulse," I said and Dragonair released the built-up blue beam, knocking Weezing out. "Good job, Weezing! Now, go Crobat!" She sent out the purple bat that always wore a scowl on its menacing face. "Dragon Dance and then Flamethrower!" I said, hoping to end this quickly. Dragonair danced around and glowed before a blast of flames collided into Crobat. "Supersonic!" Janine said as Crobat released the sound waves into the air. Dragonair was hit and teetered around, utterly confused and bewildered. "Dragonair, Water Pulse!" I said but Dragonair aimed it into the air. I watched helplessly as Crobat attacked without mercy, using Poison Sting and Air cutter. Finally, Dragonair crumpled to the ground.

"You were awesome, Dragonair. Ugh, my last Pokemon already... Eevee!" I muttered. The fox like Pokemon's eyes were shining. "Quick Attack then Iron Tail!" I said quickly. Eevee bolted towards Crobat and jumped, bruising its leg. Then, it somersaulted and its tail turned to metal, smashing into Crobat who winced in pain. It hovered around frantically and regained its balance. "Shadow Ball!" I continued, as Eevee released the dark indigo ball. I had the upper hand now. "Crobat, Air Cutter!" Janine said. The attack hit Eevee who was currently in midair, sending her plummeting towards the ground. She groaned painfully and stumbled to her feet, only to be hit by a wave of Poison Sting. It then used Wing attack repeatedly and Eevee was smashed into the wall. Eevee endured wave after wave of powerful attacks and Crobat was still going strong, keeping up the never-ending barrage of attacks. Finally, Eevee, her body badly battered and injured collapsed on the floor, its eyes closed and it was contorted in anguish and pain. Was it Over? Eevee made a weak attempt to crawl up, her feet pawing the ground, but fell back down. Crobat hovered over Eevee, frowning, its eyes pleased but also a little bored.

My eyes filled with tears, as I could not bear to see my dear Pokemon in such a condition. My heart grew warm, with love for my Pokemon, all the happy memories that me and Eevee shared,how we had grew together. "Eevee!" I screamed, my voice desperate but full of love and encouragement. It was almost bordering on hysteria. Eevee's eyes were closed, but something stirred deep within her heart. Flashbacks ran through her mind. "Eevee is unable to-" The referee started. "No," I stated coldly and he fell silent. I just knew Eevee could do it. Eevee painfully opened her eyes and slowly but surely stood up, its legs trembling but a determined expression was etched on her face. She started glowing a blinding white and I gasped. "This means she's evolving!" Janine shouted. My eyes were glued to Eevee. She grew bigger and her frame changed to one that was elegant and slender. Her fluffy tail split into a slim fork-like tail and her caramel fur was now a beautiful lilac. Her almond-shaped eyes were deep, dark blue and a shining jewel was etched on her forehead.

"Espeon!" my newly evolved Pokemon cried. I grinned. Both of us had worked so hard and now, it had paid off. "Finish it, Espeon! Psychic!" I said. Espeon's jewel glowed and she unleashed a powerful psychic energy, sending Crobat crashing to the ground, fainted. "Crobat is unable to battle! Espeon wins! The battle goes to Destiny!" I picked up Espeon and stroked it lovingly. She buried her head in my shirt and I smiled, accepting the badge from Janine.

Espeon sat on my shoulder, contented, as I hugged it tightly.


	12. Chapter 12

**MAJOR TIME LAPSE HERE.**

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"Yawn," I said, swinging my legs. I was bored. Collecting badges was getting a little repetitive, I had 16 now from both Kanto and Johto. Erika and I were having lunch in the Hoenn region by a lake. Suddenly, I heard a sound. "Huh?" I said, turning around. Two Pokemon bobbed to the surface. One was a little Feebas that I had befriended and the other was a Skrelp from the Kalos region. "Skrelp?" I said. "_Skrelp, the Mock Kelp Pokemon. __Camouflaged as rotten kelp, they spray liquid poison on prey that approaches unawares and then finish it off."_ "Interesting!" I said as Erika joined me. "Aw, it's so CUTE! Not to mention cool! Perfect for a contest!" She cooed. She threw a Poke Ball. "Buneary, come on out!" "Bun!" The little rabbit Pokemon faced the Poison and Water type. Skrelp started with Water Pulse and Buneary gracefully dodged, closing in and using dizzy punch. Skrelp teetered around, confused. It tried to use Water Pulse but hit itself.

It soon recovered and shot a Sludge Bomb at Buneary, Poisoning it. Buneary shook her head and started to take damage. "Finish it before it gets nasty! Bounce!" Buneary struck Skrelp who collapsed on the ground. Erika easily caught it. Meanwhile, Feebas looked at me. "Do you want to come?" I asked. "Bas Feeb bas." It had a determined expression on its face. "So you want to battle?" "Bas!" "Okay, go Absol!" I said. "Swords Dance!" the swords floated above Absol and her attack power increased. Feebas used a Tackle but that did virtually nothing to Absol. "Aerial Ace!" Absol slammed into Feebas, instantly sending it to the ground.

Feebas groaned in pain and I tossed a Poke Ball, catching it easily. "Yes! A Feebas!" I cheered.

Erika looked at me, puzzled. "Why are you so happy over a Feebas? It's ugly."

I was offended, and I glared at her. "Don't judge a book by it's cover. You'll be eating your words when it evolves into a beautiful Milotic," I countered.

"Hardly anyone manages to evolve their Feebas."

"Well I'll be one of the few," I snapped. I was furious at Erika. All she cared about was the outer appearance of her Pokemon. Well, I would show her Feebas's inner beauty. It may be weak and ugly, but I admired its fighting spirit. I vowed to train Feebas so that one day, she would become a strong Milotic.

"You know what? You don't care about Pokemon's true beauty. I think we need some time apart, Erika, for you to figure that out," I said. With that, I sharply turned on my heel and ran off. I tried to hold back the tears, but I knew that I didn't want to associate with anyone who didn't care about Pokemon.

"Bravo."

I had been walking by myself for a few hours now, and I was both tired and lonely. I would miss the chats I used to have with Erika. I wanted so badly to apologize, but I just couldn't. I was a wimp. I knew that. I turned around, to gasp in shock. A girl had been following me-since when? She had short, dark ruby red hair with dark indigo streaks. She wore a loose purple shirt with a skeleton design and jeans. She had boots on her feet. She stared at me intently with her gems of forest-green eyes. She had only spoken one sentence but I wasn't sure what it meant. She sighed and walked up to me, and explained herself more clearly.

"Bravo for what you did earlier. It was brave. You should know there's a lot of people, especially Coordinators, like her. She's a nice person, but she needs to learn. What you did was good," she clarified, and continued speaking. "I'm Clara, and I'm from the nearby town, Littleroot." she said. I was confused. Why was she speaking to me in the first place?

I nodded. "Thanks. I thought I was a little harsh, her being my best friend and all, but your explanation makes me understand. I started to walk again. Another hour, I saw that the girl-Clara, I think- was still following me, now in a more sneaky manner. The leaves rustled as she leaped from tree to tree. Eventually, I called for her to come down. She did.

"Why are you following me?"

"I want a battle. One on one, with my Blastoise," she admitted, tossing out a Poke Ball. A powerful, healthy Blastoise popped out. I was shocked.

"A Blastoise? This is the Hoenn Region!" I exclaimed.

"Thank Wonder Trade. I got him as a Level One, Perfect IV Squirtle," she replied, chuckling at my look of utter amazement. Normally, I would use someone with a type advantage like Zebstrika (Blitzle evolved during my journey), I wanted to go a little different. I tossed a Poke Ball into the air. My beloved Dragonair emerged in a flash of light. Now, I was the one laughing at the expression on her face. She looked both shocked and jealous at the same time.

"A-a Drag-Dragon-Dragonair-"

"A gift from my father. Now let's start," I stated, a little sour. She wanted to inquire, but noticing the dark expression on my face, she kept her mouth shut.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" A jet of water fired into the air and cascaded down to Dragonair. "Dodge!" Dragonair jumped to the side. "Dragon Dance!" I followed, and the blue dragon glowed as her attack and speed increased.

"Dragon Rush," I stated. Dragonair was cloaked in blue flames which changed into the shape of a dragon. It rushed towards Blastoise at breakneck speed. Blastoise stumbled back, weakened.

"Dragon Tail, then," Clara replied. surprisingly calm. Blastoise slammed its tail into Dragonair, who fell to the ground at the super-effective hit.

The blue snakelike dragon got up again, shaking off the layer of dust and dirt that had settled on her scales. She was angry. And when she was angry, she was feared. Nothing would stop her. She glared at Blastoise, and the turtle Pokemon taunted her, as if saying, _Bring it on!_

Dragonair growled and I smiled slightly. "Dragon Pulse," I said and the giant blast of energy swept Blastoise right off his feet, causing him to fall. Blastoise got back up, and used Rapid Spin. Dragonair was outraged now. Her eyes flashed with fury and every muscle, every nerve in her body was taunt and tingling with anticipation. She waited, and to her, it was an eternity. She wanted to attack, and the animalistic instincts threatened to take over. She barely managed to keep herself in check.

"Extreme Speed!" Finally, I commanded an attack. Dragonair launched herself forward and went berserk, completely creaming Blastoise. But she wanted more.

"Enough, Dragonair!" But the fiery dragon wouldn't listen at all. She exploded, her eyes glowing red as she glowed with a frightening crimson energy and beat up Blastoise.

I gasped. "Outrage..."

Then, Blastoise got angry too. It launched its most powerful move, Hydro Cannon.

Smoke erupted into the air as the cannon of water clashed with the Dragon's rage.


	13. Chapter 13

**OMG, It feels like SO long since I last updated. I just couldn't think of anything. BUT-**

**Red: Why are you hyper?**

**Me: BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS ABOUT YOU!**

**Red: Insane authoress... *runs***

**Me: I don't own Pokemon, even though I would love to.**

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When the smoke finally cleared, both Pokemon lay on the ground, swirls in their eyes.

Both of us couldn't believe our eyes. "A TIE?"

Then, I smirked. "You're good."

"You too."

I set off once again, noticing once again that she was following me. I didn't mind;she was a good person. Well, I would enjoy having _her _around. She cared for Pokemon. Unlike Erika. But if she _dared _get on my bad side, who knows what I would do...

Red's POV:

I sighed. Where was Destiny? That was the only question in my mind. I was getting lonely. Sure, I knew I had lived alone for a long time, but after having that sweet, caring girl with me for such a long time, I wasn't used to the sudden silence. I glanced at the back of the cave, and a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

_"You sure you want to sleep here?" I stated. It was dark out, and she had silently dragged her sleeping bag to the shadows of the cave. It was dark, dreary and cold. I offered her my spot at the side. It was, after all, a little warmer. Destiny shook her head and smiled._

_"It's OK... I'll get used to it." she replied. Shrugging, I turned back. When I heard the steady rhythm of her soft breathing, I gently draped a blanket over her shivering form. She seemed to stir, and I froze. Had she known? I didn't think so. Her eyes were still closed and she soon snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. Relieved, I crept back, falling into a peaceful sleep. My nights had been more peaceful now. I wasn't plagued by nightmares ever since I started taking care of her._

_When I woke up, I found the blanket around my body._

_She was still shivering, but a smile was on her face. I got up, dumping the blanket on her._

That spot... it was sacred to me. It felt comfortable, and I went there whenever I felt down. Pikachu would sometimes join me, nuzzling into my shoulder to comfort me. I couldn't mope around forever, though. For the first week after she was kidnapped by that _darn _Team Rocket, I couldn't sleep, eat or drink. I couldn't do anything. My Pokemon forced me to eat some berries and drink some water, but that was it. I didn't train.

When I finally started again, my Pokemon were a little out of form. I trained them extra hard, channeling all my emotions into battling. Now, they were even stronger than before. Charizard and Pikachu, who knew Destiny better than the rest of my team, was a great help. They didn't stay around to comfort me. They forced me on my feet, dragging me out of my cave, and sometimes even attacking me as a wake-up call.

I let Charizard out of its ball. The mighty dragon had to crouch to fit into the cave, and it wrapped its enormous body around me. Being a fire-type, it warmed me. Pikachu jumped on its back, as we all stared blankly at the rocky texture of the cave wall. I ran a hand down it. It was damp, cool, sticky. I knew, however, that Destiny loved it. _Its like heaven, you see, _she told me once, _The way it slopes down and you can burrow into it...it feels secure, like a haven._

Smiling, I continued to trace my hand down the hollow curve that Destiny adored. I tried crawling into the small space. I barely fit, but that was because I was taller and bigger. There were a few tall rocks at the very back of it, and the floor was quite even. Now that I had thoroughly explored it, I could imagine why she liked it. It did feel pretty safe in there.

Just then, I felt something lightly tickle my hand. A soft edge of fabric.

No.

It couldn't be!

My gaze traveled downwards and rested on a thick, red corner.

Closing my trembling fingers around it, I yanked hard. The sheet came out from its hiding place, trapped behind a rock.

The blanket. I clutched it so tightly, my knuckles turned white, as I brought my knees to my chest, draping the blanket over myself. Faint, yes, faint. The smell was faint, but it was definitely still there. The distinct smell of Destiny. Slightly sweet.

I didn't cry; of course; _Red _would never cry, now would he? But I was empty. Hollow.

My face remained completely emotionless on the outside, but inside, my chest heaved with barely held back sobs.

That warm blanket, though comforting and familiar...

Just reminded me of how much I missed her.

A wave of sadness hit me. She was _gone._

I wouldn't have any clue where she went.

Suddenly, I was hit by a Thunderbolt. Pikachu glared at me, its eyes cross. "Ka Pika CHU! PIKA PI!" It yelled, chattering to me in the weird Pokemon language that humans would never understand. However, after traveling with it for so long, I roughly knew what it meant.

"Wake up! Aren't you _the _Red? If you miss her, go find her!"

I gasped, suddenly realising what the adorable yellow mouse had been trying to tell me all along. Even though my body ached from the electric shock, I pulled Pikachu into a hug. "Pikachu, thanks so much!" It rolled its eyes and chattered away again, this time telling me to hurry up.

Getting to my feet, I gathered some supplies. I tossed out all my Pokeballs, and the rest of the team came out. They looked at me with perplexed expressions!

"We're going!"

They cheered as I returned them. Sprinting out of the cave and down the familiar path, I knew exactly where to go to.

"Time to pay Professor Oak a visit."

* * *

**YAY I'M DONE!**

**Anyway this chapter is mainly about Red since I haven't written about him in such a long time. I think he feels unloved -.-**

**Red: O.O You made me seem like a depressed freak!**

**Me: That's the storyline. Get over it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, this is a really short chapter. But I just had to get it in. Its another chapter about Red, and probably the last one for a while. There are still going to be Red chapters though.**

* * *

I gently pushed open the door, calling, "Professor Oak?"

The brown-haired professor looked up at the familiar voice, and his eyes widened. I had returned. He probably wouldn't recognise me after so many years. However, he did. "R-red?" he stammered in shock. A small smirk formed on my face.

I was enveloped in a warm embrace. Professor Oak smiled and asked, "Why are you here? I thought you were on Mt. Silver training?" His eyes strayed to the side, as if recalling an incident some time ago. The wrinkles around his eyes creased a little.

"Oh...your parents..."

"I know, they're dead," I said with little emotion in my voice. But deep down, I was hurting, hurting badly. I wanted them back so much. Professor Oak looked taken aback at how I had responded in such a detached way, like I was a robot. This was Red. The mighty, undefeated trainer, the lone wolf that stood, waiting for challengers, at the top of Mt. Silver, amongst the splendor of dazzling white and the freezing blizzard. Only, I wasn't a lone wolf anymore. I had Destiny. She was gone though...I guess I was alone once again.

"I came to look like someone, only she's not here," I sighed. I had hoped Destiny would be able to seek refuge in Pallet Town. It was small, cosy, hidden. The perfect place to hide. But I hadn't seen her anywhere.

"Who are you looking for?" Professor Oak asked warmly. He was happy that a little of the old me, the one who cared for people, actually remained. I stared at the screen behind him blankly. Pikachu cocked its head to one side, confused by all the human chatter. It jumped off and decided to explore. Meanwhile, I could only stare wide-eyed at the screen. The picture was of a blue dragon.

Dragonair.

_Dragonair!_

_How on earth did he manage to get that information?! _I thought.

"Where did you get a Dragonair?" I asked Professor Oak cautiously.

"Oh, that? Nice kid crash-landed here, apparently. Had a nice Dragonair with her. An injured Absol too, I think."

_Dragonair... and Absol... it can't be... _The pieces finally started to fit.

"What's the kid's name?"

"Destiny."

I gasped. She had been here! She was safe!

_...But what if... what if when she left, she was kidnapped?_

I shook that dark thought out of my head. She had been here. I would go look for her. There was still a glimmer of hope. My adopter sister could still be found, I just knew it. I didn't care how long it took to find her, I would never give up.

"Can I see her ID?" I asked.

Professor Oak hummed as he punched a few buttons on the computer, and a virtual ID card popped out.

She had grown.

Her dark hair was straight, her blue eyes serious but warm at the same time, a smile on her face.

_Six Pokemon?!_

I scanned the list. A Dragonair, Absol, Blitzle...

That was all before the screen changed back to the list of boring information about Dragonair.

"Sorry, Red. But I need to research. Why don't you stay here for a while?"

"No. I have to go look for Destiny," I replied urgently before running out of the door.

"Red-"

I didn't listen. My heart sang with utter joy. I was going to find her.

"RED!"

Sighing, I turned back, dragging my feet towards the professor. His arms was on his hips, and he had an angry glare on his face. He held out a gleaming red and white Poke Ball. It looked brand new. Its case was all shiny and clean.

"What is this anyway?" I asked.

"A present from your father."

Immediately, I clicked the button on the Poke Ball and there was a burst of blue light.

A small, scrawny Pokemon appeared.

It was lizard-like, with long black ears, large crystalline blue eyes, and a yellow triangle between its eyes. Its tail was tipped with black, and so was its four small limbs. However, what made it so outstanding was its main body colour. It was a bright cherry-red.

Professor Oak held out the Pokedex. _"Helioptile, the Generator Pokemon. __They make their home in deserts. They can generate their energy from basking in the sun, so eating food is not a requirement."_

"What is that Pokemon anyway?" It looked interesting, but weak.

"From the Kalos region." I had heard stories of the elegant region, but had yet to travel there.

"Your father said that he had failed to breed one with perfect IVs, but..." a picture of a normal Helioptile popped up. It was pale yellow instead of cherry red.

"Does that mean its a..." I knew the answer already. The incredibly rare Pokemon.

"Yup, a shiny," Professor Oak replied cheerfully. The Helioptile stared at me with its huge, frightened eyes, and it looked like it was going to cower away when it had the chance. Normally, though a shiny, I wouldn't use a weak Pokemon. But this was something bred by my father. So it was special.

I sighed. "Come on, I won't hurt you." Cautiously, the Helioptile jumped onto my shoulder. Pikachu immediately got friendly and started chattering to it about the "days of pure torture and hell".

Was I really that bad?

"PIKACHU!"

* * *

**Yay, a shiny!**

**Red is lucky to have one, so he shouldn't complain. I'll try (emphasis on try)to update soon.**


	15. Chapter 15

**So sorry for the extremely long wait! And this chapter is about Clara's (extremely) obstinate Cherubi. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So what about Erika?" Clara asked curiously as we travelled towards Rustboro City. We both wanted to challenge Roxanne.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll see her around," I sighed. I was still angry at her for insulting Feebas. I had been training the small fish really hard and now, it had learnt Scald and Hail. It had increase tremendously in strength after sparring with some local wild Pokemon... and Dragonair. The dragon type had felt sorry for it and had given Feebas some good advice on strategies. It had turned out to be quite intelligent, coming up with some good combinations on her own.

Besides, I wanted to know what Clara hid. So far, I had only seen her Blastoise. A strong one, too.

"Hey," I stated, tapping Clara's shoulder. "What other Pokemon do you have?"

She blushed in embarrassment. "Actually, only three." she tossed two Pokeballs into the air and a Zweilous and Cherubi came out. Cherubi looked stronger and more aggressive than other Cherubi, and Zweilous looked calmer and more mature, lacking the destructive lust that others had. Maybe it was because it was domesticated.

Cherubi locked eyes with Espeon, who happened to be out, and growled. Yes, _growled. _I had never seen a Cherubi that wild before.

"I think he wants a battle," Clara sighed. "And there's no way to change his mind; Cherubi's extremely stubborn." I shrugged and turned to Espeon. The purple catlike Pokemon had mellowed out a lot since evolving. She glanced calmly at the Cherubi, who was jumping up and down, demanding for a battle. "Espe, Espeon," it said indifferently. "Sounds like Espeon accepts. It doesn't like Cherubi's personality," I answered.

"That's OK, I myself would like him to calm down a little sometimes. He doesn't like following orders," Clara shrugged.

I smiled. "Sounds like my Zebstrika. It used to disobey me a lot." I laughed a little thinking of the Zebstrika who had once been a feisty Blitzle. I decided to let it out to watch our battle. The tall zebra neighed loudly, looking at Cherubi.

"Zeb, Zeb, Strika," It said, trying to warn him to be calmer. Cherubi snorted disdainfully and turned his head away. "Cherubi, Cheru!"

Espeon sat at one end of the battlefield, waiting patiently for the battle to start. Noticing her indifference, Cherubi was even more worked up and growled at her again. On his stubby legs, he ran to the other side, launching a Magical Leaf. Clara was flustered. "H-hey, Cherubi, I didn't ask you to attack!"

The lilac cat responded with a Psychic, redirecting the leaves towards Cherubi. "Wait, Espeon doesn't listen too?" Clara was startled.

I grinned. "No, she just knows what I want her to do," I replied. I had taken ages to master this. I could do this with my other Pokemon sometimes, through body language and eye contact, but I worked best with Espeon. Mainly due to the fact that she was a Psychic type and could communicate telepathically. Espeon used Light Screen, a new move recently learnt through a gruelling training session. Cherubi cocked its head to one side. It had never seen that move before. It didn't seem to raise Espeon's power or do anything to him, so he made the assumption that it was like Splash, having no effect on battle. He used another Magical Leaf. The leaves grazed Espeon's skin and fell to the ground. It had done hardly any damage.

Cherubi seemed to understand. Light Screen raised Special Defense. So Magical Leaf did virtually nothing.

"Cherubi, use Sunny Day- Wait, Cherubi, not Energy Ball!" Clara exclaimed. Cherubi ignored her. If the weaker grass move didn't work, he would use a stronger one. I smirked. I had figured out how to keep the Pokemon's pride at bay- to completely defeat it and teach it a lesson. That way, it would learn to listen for a change.

_Iron Tail. You know what I'm planning, right?_

A voice floated back into my head. Espeon was good at using her psychic powers to communicate.

_Of course I do._

As the green ball headed towards Espeon, her tail glowed white and turned to rock-hard metal. She casually flicked her forked tail into the air, whipping at the energy ball and sending it flying back. Cherubi stumbled back a little and looked around. The Energy Ball had caused a lot of smoke to engulf the field. He couldn't see anything. Suddenly, he felt himself being tossed up into the air. It hit the ceiling and flailed around as he tried to regain his balance as it fell. Just as he touched the ground, he felt his second head being blasted with a Shadow Ball. He rolled a few feet, feeling a headache coming on.

_Why is this Espeon so powerful?! I should have been able to defeat it easily after training in the wild?_

Cherubi started charging up for another move.

_He's using a Petal Blizzard. _Espeon told me. Her slender tail quivered slightly,

_Right. Lock on to the weak spot and then use Iron Tail. _I answered, thinking quickly.

As a flurry of pink petals headed towards Espeon, she dashed right and left, locating a spot- Cherubi's left foot- that wasn't surrounded by petals. She grunted a little as a razor-sharp petal cut across her skin, but she was alright.

_Why not try that new strategy we were working on? _I suggested.

_Sounds interesting, _Espeon replied, _and this is a perfect situation._

This strategy was the one time I had gained battle knowledge from Erika. I had been watching her practice. When I saw her use Dizzy Punch on Ice Beam before punching the shards of ice towards her opponent, I had come up with an idea. After a little thought and modification, I was pretty sure it would work in battle as well.

Espeon twirled her Iron Tail around and closed her eyes. She combined Iron Tail with Psychic, making the petals fall in place as a violent tornado around the iron tail. As she leapt above Cherubi, the little Pokemon could only watch with wide eyes as his left foot was hit hard. He crashed into a tree, fainted.

As Clara sprayed a Revive on him, he sat up, his pride crushed. His second head drooped downward as he stared at the ground, feeling depressed. Maybe it would be a little better to try listening to his trainer next time.

"Espeon, Espe, espeon." _You see? This is the price you pay for your arrogance._

"Bi..." _I understand..._

Clara attacked me and Espeon with a hug. "Thank you so much! How was Espeon able to do all that?"

I smiled. "Lots of training."

I raised my head and saw Rustboro City in the distance.

"And now that Cherubi's willing to listen to you, you're in pretty good shape to take on Roxanne."

* * *

**I'm done! Hopefully that was OK.**

**I used Espeon because she was the calmest. I'll (try to) update soon! EXAMS ARE OVER! *celebrates***

**Red:...Am I supposed to be happy?**

**Me: Yes, because I have a lot more time to type!**

**Red: But that's bad!**

**Me: Ignore Red who's being a wet blanket and please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm back! Sorry if this is kind of boring and seems like a filler chapter. It is kind of important to the story. Anyway enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey Destiny, have you won any leagues since you're so good at battling?"

I thought about that question for a little while before answering.

"Well, I placed top 4 in the Kanto League, and won the Johto League."

Clara was amazed. "How come I didn't hear that?"

"Well, the Johto League was recent. Maybe it hasn't reached Hoenn yet."

We walked to the Pokemon Center to get our Pokemon healed, buy some supplies and have a meal. Nurse Joy greeted us with her usual cheerful smile that every single Nurse Joy had. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center! What can I do for you?" she asked warmly.

"Well, we'd like to heal our Pokemon. Is there anywhere here that we can eat?" Clara answered politely, as we placed out Poke Balls on the counter. Nurse Joy placed them on a tray and handed them to Chansey, who tottered away.

Nurse Joy pointed to her right before disappearing behind the counter to give our Pokemon a checkup. We headed to the left where the PokeMart was. I handed over some cash and returned to the dining area with a bag of Poke Balls and Full Restores. Clara was wolfing down her food and I followed suit. It was 3pm and we still hadn't eaten lunch. Needless to say, the two of us were starving. In about 5 minutes, the two plates loaded with food were all gone.

_Ding-ding-ding!_

We walked over to the counter where Nurse Joy was waiting. She handed me my six Poke Balls and Clara her three. "All your Pokemon are perfectly fine!" she said. I thanked her and asked, "Do you know where you can find the Rustboro Gym?"

"It's nearby. When you exit, turn right and then walk forward until the next turn, then turn left. You should find the Gym," she replied cheerfully. Waving to her, I started to walk out when Clara called me.

"Destiny!"

I quickly retraced my steps and found Clara at the trade machine. She set her Zweilous's Poke Ball on one end and took Feebas's. She gave it a small pink scale and then set it on the other end. Then, she traded it to her end and then traded it back to me. "All right!"

"What was that for?"

"Besides maxing out beauty stats, Feebas will also evolve when trading with a Prism Scale," she explained. I grinned. Now Erika would be eating her words. Running outside, I tossed the Poke Ball into the air. "Feebas, come on out!"

The scrawny brown fish appeared, then started glowing. It grew longer, taller and more slender, developing a serpentine shape. When the light faded, I saw that she had two long scarf-like pink fins and a smooth cream body. Her tail was beautifully mosiac-patterned, and she had dark red-pink eyes. She nuzzled into me. "Tiiic, Milotic!" She exclaimed. Smiling, I gently stroked her neck. "Now I'm all set for the Gym!"

I approached the gym. It was tall and looked like a Trainer's school. I had heard that Gym Leader Roxanne also worked as a teacher in the Rustboro Trainer School. As I pushed open the door, I was nearly knocked down by a streak of blue barreling down the steps. This was followed by a child dashing out, laughing. He wore a white uniform and school shoes as he chased after the blue streak, which turned out to be a small Mudkip. Then, a young woman stepped out, frowning. "Max! How many times do I have to tell you? You're not supposed to let Mudkip out!" She picked Mudkip up from the ground. "Mudkip, don't be so playful next time, OK?" The Pokemon nodded before laughing as it jumped out again. Roxanne sighed and caught it. She fought to keep the wriggling Pokemon in her arms.

"Mudkip! No treats for a week and two demerit points!"

The blue Pokemon's fin drooped as it lowered its head. Apologetically, the woman turned to us. "I'm so sorry! Are you OK?" she seemed a little flustered. When we both nodded, she sighed in relief and continued. "I'm Roxanne. What can I do for you?"

"Well...we would like a gym battle with you, if that's OK," I said.

"N-now? Sorry, but its school hours. What about you come and sit for a few lessons?"

_Lessons? Interesting!_

"Do we get to let out Pokemon out?" Clara asked. Roxanne nodded. "As long as they can fit, I'm sure its fine!" Clara smiled and let out Cherubi, who was still a little down about his loss. I let out Espeon. Well, technically, she would be the only one who was actually small enough.

"Class! I'm sorry for the interruption! We have two guests here today!" The class politely bowed when they saw us enter.

I sat down next to a small girl with a rented Chimchar. She looked at Espeon in awe. After a while, she mustered up enough courage to ask me a question. "Is that Espeon yours?" I nodded. "Does that mean you're a trainer?" I nodded again.

She smiled. "AWESOME!"

"This is..." Roxanne looked a little lost. "Clara," Clara offered. "And my friend is Destiny."

I playfully glared at her. "I would like to introduce myself, you know."

"Right. Clara and Destiny. Make them feel at home, OK?" she continued with her class. After a while, I got a little bored. I knew everything already. Red had taught me a lot. When I thought about him, a small pang of loneliness hit me.

_Red..._

"...Destiny. Destiny?" My head jerked up. "Were you even paying attention?" I grinned sheepishly. "Er, not really?"

She scowled. "How about you tell us about the type matchups for Dark, Fire and Psychic?" This elicited gasps and whispers from the class.

"Miss Roxanne must be mad..."

"Thats's really hard..."

"We haven't learnt that yet..."

Without missing a beat, I recited the answer. "Pfft, that's easy. Dark Pokemon are weak against Fighting, Bug and Fairy types. They're strong against Psychic and Ghost types. They only do half damage to Steel, Fighting and other Dark types. Fire types are weak against Water, Rock and Ground types. They're strong against Bug, Grass, Ice and Steel types. Fairy types only do half damage. They only do half damage to Dragon, Rock, Water and other Fire types." There were many gasps and Roxanne was stunned. Pausing to take a breath, I continued. "Psychic types are weak against Bug, Dark and Ghost types. They're strong against Fighting and Poison types. They only do half damage to other Psychic and Steel types. Dark types are immune towards them."

Everyone, including Clara and Roxanne looked at me wide-eyed. I was confused. That was pretty easy.

"Any more tests?" I asked as I sat down. Roxanne slowly shook her head.

"No..."

Finally, the class ended. I yawned and stood up, ready to leave. Just then, a bald man rushed up to Roxanne.

"Miss Roxanne, the news of the Johto League is here."

The woman accepted the copy of _Gym Leaders Information _and walked back in.

"Class, please stay back for another five minutes. I want to read out the news of the Johto League. This will inspire you to train and study harder to become just as strong-or stronger- as them." the children shuffled back into their seats.

"_The winner of the 2204 Johto League is ten-year-old Destiny Lee from New Bark Town. She defeated her opponent in the finals easily with a powerful Psychic from her Espeon. She has also placed top 4 in the Kanto League. Who is this up-and-coming blader?"_

Roxanne stared at me. "You didn't tell me that!"

I shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"Espe espeon." _Exactly._

"Well, is it..." she trailed off. I looked at her expectantly.

"Is it OK if I film our battle? The Gym Leaders Association has been pressing us for a demonstration match, but we got tired of battling each other and we couldn't find any strong trainers. So what do you say?"

* * *

**So hope you enjoyed :) the next chapter will have BOTH Clara vs Roxanne and Destiny vs Roxanne. And yes, this story is set in the future.**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!**


	17. Chapter 17

**OK, I'm finally back... and I lied. There's only 1 battle in this chapter as it was longer than I thought. Enjoy!**

* * *

"This will be a two-on-two battle! Each side may use two Pokemon. The battle will be over when both Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokemon!" The referee announced.

"Ready, Destiny?" Roxanne held two Poke Balls in her hand. I stood calmly on the other side of the battlefield.

"Ready." I took out a Poke Ball, scrutinizing the composed scholar in front of me. I had come up with a strategy- well, two just to be safe. _I could either use Dragonair's Water Pulse and strong attack power since Rock types don't really have anything against Dragon types, or more probably Milotic. But she recently evolved, so I'm not so sure, and she only knows Scald for Water-type moves..._ I pondered. _Well, she is strong, and she's proven herself, so why not give her a chance?_

I switched Dragonair's Poke Ball for Milotic's. When I felt Dragonair's Poke Ball shake in protest, I smiled gently. "Next time, girl," I promised. Meanwhile, Roxanne tapped her foot impatiently as she casually readied a Poke Ball.

"You took that long to come up with a strategy?" she asked.

"Yes, I took _so_ long to come up with just _two_ solid strategies with no flaws," I shot back sarcastically and playfully.

"Whatever," Roxanne said. "Geodude, let's go!" A boulder-like Pokemon with two arms popped out of the ball and landed on the battlefield. I smirked. _A typical Rock type. I think I made the right choice._ I thought. I threw my Poke Ball into the air. "Milotic, that's your cue!"

The beautiful serpent landed on the rocky battlefield. She stared at Geodude before looking at me.

I smiled encouragingly. "It's a Gym Battle. Do your best!"

"Tic!"

I called the first move. "Milotic, use Scald-" As the serpent-like Pokemon charged up the blast of searing-hot water, an Energy Ball suddenly crashed into Geodude, sending it flying into the air. I looked around, confused. "Wha..."

Roxanne stared at me. "I'm pretty sure that Scald looked different the last time I saw it."

"BI!"

"Cherubi, it's not your turn- CHERUBI!" Clara cried, as the stubborn little Pokemon shook its head and launched another Energy Ball. This time, it wasn't aimed at Geodude, but into the air, where it exploded, like a declaration of war. Both of the Pokemon glared at each other, sizing their opponent up. Cherubi badly wanted a chance to prove himself to Clara. He couldn't wait any longer. Besides, he felt that the win would help him get over his loss.

_I need to win this!_

"It's fine," I said, returning Milotic. "Clara, you can go first."

"But-"

"Look at how determined Cherubi is! Could you bear seeing him wait any longer? He needs to do this now!" I told my friend, who stared at her Pokemon, thinking. Cherubi growled his name in agreement. He looked at Clara, pleading with, almost begging her to let him battle. Clara's eyes watered. She hadn't thought about how her spunky yet sensitive Pokemon felt when she had agreed to battle second. "Cherubi..." she trailed off.

* * *

_"OK, you can film our battle," I agreed. Roxanne smiled._

_"Great! Have you two decided what order you'll be battling in?" Roxanne queried. I frowned. Battling second seemed like a better option, as I could see her Pokemon's moves and her general technique, but I was fine with anything. With Dragonair, Milotic, Espeon, Absol... well Zebstrika and Ninetales wouldn't be very useful, I was set. My Pokemon were trained and strong._

_"Um..."_

_"Destiny, is it OK if I go second? 'Cause you're so experienced, you won't have any problems, right?" Clara asked._

_"Er, sure!" I replied._

_Cherubi's gazed dropped. "Bi..."_

_"No, Cherubi, it's better if we wait. That way we'll have a better chance of winning," Clara said firmly. Cherubi nodded slowly. _

_"Cheru..."_

* * *

"Cheru! Cherubi!" _Please Clara! I wanna do this!_

"Fine then... Cherubi, you ready?" Clara smiled as she jumped off her seat and made her way to the battlefield. I exchanged places with her. "Good luck!" I said, giving her a high-five. Cherubi smiled. It was so on.

"Geodude, Defense Curl!"

The boulder-like Pokemon curled up in a ball, boosting its defense. "One more time!" Now, with a massive increase in Defense, physical attacks would do virtually nothing. Clara countered back. "Use Sunny Day!" Intense sunlight shone brightly and Cherubi ran about happily, soaking in the warm golden rays.

"Magical Leaf!" Hundreds of glowing petals headed towards Geodude. With an increase in power from Sunny Day, the grass-type attack was even more deadly. Geodude winced. It could endure physical attacks just fine, but special... now that was a whole different story. "So Defense Curl won't work... then use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne commanded. Rocks erupted from the ground and Cherubi was hit by one of them. "Get up Cherubi! Dodge the rocks!" Clara shouted quickly,

Cherubi darted left and right. Its speed wasn't the best, and there were a few scary moments where the pink Pokemon was nearly hit by the rocks. When the rocks sank back into the ground, Cherubi was panting hard.

"OK Cherubi! Finish with Energy Ball!"

Cherubi fired the crackling green sphere of energy towards Geodude, who was sent backwards into a wall, fainted.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Cherubi wins!"

Scowling, Roxanne recalled her Pokemon. "Not bad," Roxanne smirked. "But you haven't met my ace, Nosepass!" A blue Pokemon with a magnetic nose appeared.

"Pass."

"Use Tackle, Nosepass!"

"Dodge, Cherubi!"

Breathing heavily, Cherubi jumped to the right but was too slow. It was caught in the side and was knocked to the ground.

_Not good, _I thought, _Cherubi's tired out._

"Cherubi?" Clara was concerned. "Can you continue?"

Cherubi slowly got up, only to be attacked by a powerful Rock Throw. Before it could escape, it was hit by Rock Tomb and then Tackle. Cherubi had swirls in its eyes as it collapsed on the ground.

"Cherubi is unable to battle! Nosepass wins!"

Clara picked up Cherubi. As he opened his eyes, Clara comforted, "It's OK, boy. You did great!"

"Cheru..." Clara smiled and returned Cherubi to its Poke Ball. She took out her next Poke Ball. "Blastoise!"

The enormous turtle-like Pokemon shook the ground violently as it landed on the battlefield. Even Nosepass was startled by its size. Blastoise stared at Nosepass calmly. "Toise, Blastoise, toise." it roared. _Is this a joke? I'm supposed to go up against this puny thing? _Clara sighed. "Blastoise, I sent you out to battle, not trash-talk your opponent." Blastoise stopped talking and focused back on the actual battle, where Nosepass raced towards it using Tackle.

"Dragon Tail!" Blastoise swung its glowing tail and smashed into Nosepass, sending the Compass Pokemon flying. It regained its balance but looked a little dizzy. "Recover quickly and use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne shouted. Nosepass slammed its hands into the ground, making rocks shoot up.

Clara smirked. "Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!"

The turtle charged up a giant sphere of water and sent it spiralling towards Nosepass, who flailed around wildly in alarm. The rocks didn't even faze Blastoise. "Pass!" It cried as it went crashing into the ground, fainted. Blastoise snorted. Was that seriously all his opponent had?

"Toise Blastoise!" _Really?! You sent me out to battle that? Use something weaker next time why don't you? I literally annihilated that-"_

"Blastoise, stop that! Don't be mean!" Clara chided.

Roxanne walked up to Clara, giving her the Stone Badge. She smiled. "Good battle! You deserve this badge." Then, she turned to me. "Destiny, I need to heal up my Pokemon, so could we battle tomorrow?" she asked. "Sure," I agreed. _Why does my battle keep on being delayed?!_

As Roxanne and Clara headed off to the Pokemon Center, I decided to wait for them and discuss tactics with my team.

* * *

Little did we know...

The two-headed purple and black dragon-Zweilous- remained obediently in its Poke Ball. However, under that shaggy mop of black fur, its unseen eyes glared darkly at its trainer, and let out a soft but menacing growl that no one could hear.

_"I'm considered weak? And I'm hardly used? Ha. I'll get my revenge...someday," _It hissed, anger and injustice in its voice.

* * *

**Next chapter will be Roxanne vs Destiny, I promise. What's up with Zweilous? We'll find out in later chapters! As always, critiques welcome and please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**OK, this is Roxanne vs Destiny. Sorry if Destiny's a little OP or Roxanne is a little OOC. Anyway enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Finally!" I exclaimed. Roxanne looked at me. "It will be fun beating the winner of the Johto League," she said.

"Yeah, fun... if you can," I shot back. Johto was my hometown after all, and I needed to defend anything about it. "Whatever, let's get started already," Roxanne continued, "Golem!" A giant, boulder-lizard-like Pokemon popped out. I was shocked. "That's not a Geodude!" I exclaimed, glaring at her. However, the Gym Leader simply shrugged.

"I like to switch up my strategy a little to keep my opponents on their feet. Why? You scared?" she challenged. I scowled. "Am not! Milotic, that's your cue!" I tossed the Poke Ball into the air and the beautiful cream-coloured Pokemon popped out. Even now, I was still in awe of her radiant beauty. I couldn't believe that I owned such an amazing and rare Pokemon.

"Golem, use Rollout! And keep going!" Roxanne shouted. Her Pokemon nodded, curled up in a ball and charged with amazing speed towards Milotic. I stood there calmly, thinking.

_Hmm, Rollout. A move that gets stronger over time. In that case..._

"Milotic! Use Aqua Ring. I know you can take the hit!" Blue rings surrounded Milotic and she barely flinched as the ball smashed into her. Roxanne gasped. "But how?" I simply smiled. This was the result of all our training. And Milotic had learnt some useful moves. Golem hurtled into Milotic again and again, but Aqua Ring just healed the damage.

"I'll stop playing around. Use Scald," I commanded. A blast of boiling water crashed into Golem and sent it flying. However, it was somehow still conscious but dazed. I narrowed my eyes and inwardly reprimanded myself. _Great, _I thought, _I forgot about Golem's annoying ability, Sturdy. _Milotic glared at it, who simply smirked. Before Roxanne was able to call a move, I yelled, "One more time!" Golem got up and was about to dodge when another blast of water hit him in the face. He collapsed, truly fainted.

"Good job Milotic! You did great for your first proper battle!" I praised. The serpent Pokemon cried its name happily. Reluctantly, Roxanne returned Golem. "Good job, Golem. You did your best," she said before frowning. She flipped open a book filled with Poke Balls on every page (A/N she really did this in the manga) before carefully choosing one. She tossed another Poke Ball. "Kabuto!" There was the familiar blue burst of light before a small brown Pokemon came out.

It wasn't actually brown- it was black. I thought it was brown at first when I saw its large, rock-hard brown shell cover its entire body. Its body was just... black, and I couldn't really see anything except for two large, eerie red eyes glowering at me from beneath the shell and six short yellow legs. It also had two smaller eyes on its shell, which glared at me with determination. I hadn't seen this Pokemon before and held out my Pokedex, which bleeped out the information in its usual monotonous voice.

"_Kabuto, the Shellfish Pokemon. It is a Pokemon that has been regenerated from a fossil. However, in rare cases, living examples have been discovered. Kabuto have not changed for 300 million years._" it said. I nodded, keeping the Pokedex. Interesting.

"Kabuto, start with Swords Dance!" Roxanne ordered. Swords danced around the shellfish, increasing its attack power. I smirked. _She's so dead. She doesn't know that I'm a master at that strategy._"Milotic! Use Scald!" I called. The majestic serpent fired yet another stream of water that hit Kabuto, which didn't take _that _much damage. "Kabuto is both a Rock and Water type!" Roxanne chided, about to launch into another of her lectures.

"I know," I said. "I was hoping for _this._" Just as I snapped my fingers, flames engulfed Kabuto and it cried in pain. "The secondary burn effect that Scald sometimes brings a burn not only causes damage, but also quarters its attack! Swords Dance is useless now!" Roxanne muttered something under her breath.

Then, she called her next move. "Use Surf!" A powerful wall of water hit Milotic. "Not bad," I commented. Milotic shook her head. Water-type moves were just fine. "Again and again!" Now, the entire stadium was almost filled with water because of the multiple Surfs that Kabuto unleashed. Milotic was slowly but surely taking damage and Aqua Ring had long ended. Roxanne smiled. "Finish it up with Ice Beam!" she yelled. Kabuto fired a beam of solid ice towards Milotic. I stood there, troubled. I only had a few seconds before Ice Beam hit.

_What do I do? That thing is strong. Wait, those new moves!_

Just as the Ice Beam hit Milotic, I called, "Take it and use Mirror Coat!"

Roxanne was stunned. "W-wha...?"

Milotic grunted with pain but took the hit. Then, it unleashed a powerful Ice Beam twice the size. Kabuto was hit and struggled to get up. I smirked. It was over- especially with the new moves Milotic had learnt. Honestly, I had no idea why I had forgotten about it earlier. Probably because I was too caught up in the battle. Roxanne was alarmed. One more hit from Milotic would decide the battle. Kabuto groaned as it took more damage from the burn. I called out my final move.

"Bulldoze!"

"Oh no, get up quickly Kabutops!"

But it was all too late. The ground shook violently and the poor shellfish met the full force of a super-effective Bulldoze. It fainted on the spot. Sighing, Roxanne returned it. I petted Milotic lovingly and then hugged it. "Milotic, you did it!" The pokemon happily nuzzled into me. I looked up and saw all the cameramen focus their cameras at me. I smiled nervously. I had kind of forgotten that they were there the entire time during the battle.

They started zooming in as Roxanne walked up with the Stone Badge. "Destiny, great job. This will make an exceptional demonstration battle. Good luck for your journey!" I happily accepted the shiny piece of glinting metal. "Thanks!"

Then, I kept the badge in a small pink and cream locket on the end of a pendant before hanging it on Milotic, who smiled happily. The pendant showed that she was a true member of my team. The pendant was a recent addition- it showed that those Pokemon were ones I loved. I saw Roxanne look at me, confused. I smiled. "I pin my badges on the Pokemon that help me win a particular Gym battle. That way I'll remember those battles forever." I brought out the rest of my team to show her.

All of my Pokemon had pendants but lockets of different colours. Espeon had a lilac and red locket, Dragonair had a blue and darker blue locket, Absol had a black and silver locket, Ninetales had a gold and white locket, and Zebstrika had a yellow and electric blue locket.

Roxanne was impressed. "You do care about your Pokemon a lot!"

I shrugged. "They've been by my side a lot. What can I say?"

The two of us- Clara and I- then proceeded to leave the Rustboro Gym and head over to Dewford Town, the nearest place with a gym. Suddenly, I had a flashback when I had first met Clara.

* * *

_"Bravo."_

_I had been walking by myself for a few hours now, and I was both tired and lonely. I would miss the chats I used to have with Erika. I wanted so badly to apologize, but I just couldn't. I was a wimp. I knew that. I turned around, to gasp in shock. A girl had been following me-since when? She had short, dark ruby red hair with dark indigo streaks. She wore a loose purple shirt with a skeleton design and jeans. She had boots on her feet. She stared at me intently with her gems of forest-green eyes. She had only spoken one sentence but I wasn't sure what it meant. She sighed and walked up to me, and explained herself more clearly._

_"Bravo for what you did earlier. It was brave. You should know there's a lot of people, especially Coordinators, like her. She's a nice person, but she needs to learn. What you did was good," she clarified, and continued speaking. "I'm Clara, and I'm from the nearby town, Littleroot." she said. I was confused. Why was she speaking to me in the first place?_

_I nodded. "Thanks. I thought I was a little harsh, her being my best friend and all, but your explanation makes me understand. I started to walk again. Another hour, I saw that the girl-Clara, I think- was still following me, now in a more sneaky manner. The leaves rustled as she leaped from tree to tree. Eventually, I called for her to come down. She did._

_"Why are you following me?"_

_"I want a battle. One on one, with my Blastoise," she admitted, tossing out a Poke Ball. A powerful, healthy Blastoise popped out. I was shocked._

_"A Blastoise? This is the Hoenn Region!" I exclaimed._

_"Thank Wonder Trade. I got him as a Level One, Perfect IV Squirtle," she replied, chuckling at my look of utter amazement. Normally, I would use someone with a type advantage like Zebstrika (Blitzle evolved during my journey), I wanted to go a little different. I tossed a Poke Ball into the air. My beloved Dragonair emerged in a flash of light. Now, I was the one laughing at the expression on her face. She looked both shocked and jealous at the same time._

_"A-a Drag-Dragon-Dragonair-"_

_"A gift from my father. Now let's start," I stated, a little sour. She wanted to inquire, but noticing the dark expression on my face, she kept her mouth shut._

* * *

"Destiny?" Clara tapped my shoulder gently. "Destiny? You zoned out for a while there. You OK?"

I blinked quickly. "What? Yeah, I'm fine." I continued. "Well, I didn't tell you my past, right? Well..."

* * *

Clara covered her mouth in an apologetic manner. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" she said. "Red, though? Isn't he, like, the top Pokemon trainer or something? No wonder you're so strong!" I was shocked. I mean, I _knew _Red was strong, but not top-in-the-world kind of strong. My gaze dropped.

"If you don't want to talk about it..."

I tried to hold back tears. I really hoped Red was OK. What if he was blackmailed again by Team Rocket and it was all my fault?

What if?

* * *

**Ok... that was a pretty suckish chapter. I'll try to get the next one up soon. The Zweilous saga will be in a few chapters and I'm really looking forward to that.**

**Random fact: I personally think that Pokemon makes no sense. The whole purpose is to fill up the Pokedex and find all the Pokemon but... don't they have all the Pokemon info already? Like the Pokedex has information for every single Pokemon... then... what are we supposed to do?**

**Anyway, critiques welcome and please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Destiny catches another Pokemon in this! Yay! Anyway, sorry if this is a little boring. Enjoy!**

**Destiny: Is it a good one?**

**Me: Yes! Can you do the disclaimer too? *cute face***

**Destiny: OK. NyxAbsol does not own Pokemon, even though she would love to.**

* * *

I was still down as we traveled towards Dewford Town, and kept quiet. Clara kept on attempting to talk to me, but I was still silent. Thinking about Red made me both happy and miserable at the same time- a conflicting feeling that I couldn't describe. Red was really nice. He took care of me, trained me and my Pokemon for two whole years when he could have been training himself and growing stronger, and acted like a big brother. He was my only "family" and it took some of the pain away. I really wanted to see him again but at the same time, I knew it was impossible.

I felt like I owed him something. All this time he had been taking care of me, and what did he get in return? Me being kidnapped by that stupid Team Rocket who really needed to get a life, and he was probably worrying about me.

_...I'm sorry, Red, I owe you too much..._

I also couldn't contact him, as I had no phone, Xtransceiver (A/N: Is this how you spell it?!) or weird Holo Caster from the Kalos region. So... it was fun traveling with Clara and previously Erika, but I felt as if there was something missing from my life. I didn't know what it was. I had everything I could possibly need and want. I had friends, great Pokemon, money to cover expenses, and I was a League winner. So what could it possibly be?

Was it insecurity?

"Hey Destiny..." Clara tried talking to me again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to depress you." I turned around and sighed. "Clara, its not you. I chose to tell you, remember? Besides, I'll be fine." The redhead smiled. She had finally succeeded in making me talk. A ghost of a sad, wistful smile appeared on my face as I let out a random Pokemon. I had no idea which one I sent out. A gold fox with red eyes appeared at my side, cocking its head as it stared at me in confusion. "Tales?" It asked, perplexed. "No, Ninetales, I just needed some cheering up. There's no battling," I told it.

The fox nodded and rubbed its elegant head against my sleeve, making me let out a small laugh. "H-hey, stop it! I'm ticklish!" I told Ninetales, who stopped and instead let me stroke her head. I turned to Clara. "Want a ride?" Clara shook her head. She looked distracted by something moving in a bush. I turned my attention to that. "Huh?"

"I think you might need to battle now..." she trailed off. There was some rustling in the bush before a small Pokemon popped out. It was blue-green and snake-like, with a sleek body and huge red eyes. It had small limbs and a cream underside. It glared at us disdainfully. "Snivy!" it cried. I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a Snivy?" I asked Clara. I had no idea what an Unova Pokemon was doing in the Hoenn region. Then again, Erika's Skrelp had come from Kalos, so I guessed anything was possible.

"Yeah, it looks different from normal, though," replied Clara. I held up my Pokedex to check it out. "Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokemon," my Pokedex beeped in its usual mechanic, emotionless voice. "It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to sunlight makes its movements swifter. However, the Snivy displayed on the screen had scales that were forest green, not turquoise-ish like this one's. I gasped. Was that a shiny?! I remembered what Red had taught me about shiny Pokemon.

* * *

_"For example," Red started, "You see Charizard here?" I nodded as he let out Charizard. The orange dragon roared its name. "So a normal Charizard is mainly orange in colour," he stated, returning Charizard to the Poke Ball. _

_"Well, a shiny Charizard will be mainly black instead of orange."_

_I was stunned. I never knew such Pokemon existed. "Amazing! Are they rare?" I asked excitedly._

_Red nodded. "Extremely rare. Most trainers don't even see one in their entire life." I slowly took in the information before asking my next question. "Well, besides their special colouring, how else are they different? Like are they stronger, or learn different moves?" Red laughed. "That's what a lot of trainers think, but no. They are exactly the same as normal Pokemon except for their colouring."_

_"So cool!" I enthused. "So they're highly prized in the Pokemon universe?"_

_"Yes. But sadly, a lot of these poor Pokemon don't have happy lives. They're either bred by avid breeders and then given to trainers who want nothing but shinies or are sold to rich owners who keep them locked up every day. Remember, Destiny, if you ever get a shiny Pokemon, treat it with love._

_"OK Red!"_

* * *

Ninetales looked at me excitedly. She loved battling, and wanted to fight this Snivy. When I nodded and told her to use Flamethrower, she instantly shot a column of deadly flames towards the Snivy, who dodged easily. Its tail then glowed green and it scored a direct hit on Ninetales. I was shocked. This little grass snake was _strong. _Ninetales shook of the attack and waited for my next command. "Use Toxic!" Ninetales shot a stream of poison towards Snivy, but the wily Pokemon had already predicted her move and dodged again. It then hit rapidly with a succession of Leaf Storms which seemed to get stronger with every time it used it. I was confused. _Wait, wasn't Leaf Storm supposed to get weaker every time?_

I checked the Pokedex again. _Snivy. Ability, Contrary. This ablity enables stat changes to be inverted._

I turned to Clara. "Isn't Snivy's ability Overgrow?" She thought for a while. "I GET IT! Some Pokemon have hidden abilities. In this case, Snivy's hidden ability is Contrary, which makes Leaf Storm stronger instead of weaker!" I nodded.

I turned back to the battle, closing my eyes. _If I were Snivy, what moves would I naturally think would come next? _Since I had a type advantage... Snivy would expect Ninetales to use another Flamethrower! I had got it. "Ninetales, use Iron Tail, and do a fake!" Ninetales nodded. Her nine tails turned to steel an she pretended to run to the left where Snivy was. The snake smirked. As soon as it saw Ninetales put a foot to the left, it was already using its vines to launch itself right. Ninetales charged right, shocking Snivy and slamming it to the ground.

"OK, Ninetales, finish of with Flamethrower!" I shouted.

Snivy stumbled to her feet and used her vines to try and dodge. However, she had been weakened from the last attack.

Snivy cried in pain as it was hit by the blast of flames, which singed its tail.

I threw a Poke Ball at it. It seemed to shake for eternity before... _ding! _The Poke Ball clicked in confirmation, showing that I had successfully caught Snivy. Both me and Clara grinned, high-fiving. I picked up the Poke Ball, trying to press the button. It didn't work. "I guess I can't use it right now 'cause I have 6 Pokemon... so where should I send it to?" I asked.

"How about Professor Oak?"

"Yeah, that would work!"

* * *

-Finally at Dewford-

Clara saw me putting a berry in my mouth. I had a large handful of them and I was happily snacking on some Oran berries. I turned to her. "Want one?" I opened my bag, took another handful out and dumped it in her hand. "Where did you get these?" she asked suspiciously. "Well, for every edible berry tree that I saw, I got Ninetales to use Iron Tail. What? I got hungry," I said when she gaped at me. Finally, she ate a Pecha Berry.

When we got to the Pokemon Center, I called Professor Oak.

"Hello! I'll be there in a minute!" the professor turned around and saw me. "Well, hello Destiny! Where are you now? Why did you call?" he queried. "Oh, I'm in Dewford Town," I replied. Professor Oak was quite impressed. "Whoa! Hoenn already? That's really fast! And I saw the Johto League too! Good job, Destiny!"

I smiled and thanked him. "You know, even Red wasn't as fast as you." I raised an eyebrow. "Red? You know him?"

"Of course, I gave a Pokedex to him a pretty long time ago." He looked like he was about to tell me all about Red's adventures and how he rose to the top. While I was interested, I also wanted to challenge the gym. "I have seven Pokemon now. I don't suppose you could...?"

"Of course I'll take one. Which one do you want to leave with me?" he asked in a friendly voice.

I thought for a while. "My Snivy," I finally told him. The professor nodded. "OK then, place your Poke Ball on that capsule on the left there. It will send Snivy to me... no, not that one, the left one! No, no, no! Not your left! My left! Yes, that one!" The Poke Ball was sucked into a tube. Moments later, the Poke Ball appeared in Professor Oak's hand. "I've got it. Snivy will be well taken care of!" he scanned the Poke Ball. "Oho! You managed to catch a shiny with a Hidden Ability? This will be very good for my research!"

"Thank you for agreeing to take care of Snivy, Professor Oak."

"Of course, its no problem. Bye!"

"Bye!"

* * *

**Me: See Destiny? It IS a good Pokemon.**

**Destiny: Well thanks...**

**Red: ...**

**Me: Are you jealous that you're not included for these few chapters? And what are you doing here?**

**Red: NO! And I walked into the wrong room.**

**Destiny: Denial...**

**Me: Bye! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm back, and can I say that this chapter has a contest in it? I won't spoil anything else. If you want to, ignore the contest appeals. They're absol-utely horrible. Ugh, did I just say that?! Enjoy!**

* * *

I felt Clara's eyes on me as we walked towards Dewford Gym. She could have been looking anywhere else, like the beautiful watery scenery and the lush greenery that adorned it, but no- she looked at me. I could feel her gaze literally burning a hole in my shirt. Frustrated, I turned my head to glare at her. "Will you please cut it out?!"

Embarrassed, Clara sheepishly tore her gaze away from me and focused instead on the sparkling turquoise water that surrounded the gym. After a while, I asked another question. "Um... what was that for?" The girl hesitated before stuttering out her response. "Er... nothing..."

My tone was gentle but firm. "What is it? I'm not going to turn into a fire-breathing dragon and devour you! Well, technically I _do _have a fire-breathing dragon that can devour you (*cough cough* Dragonair *cough cough*), but that's not the point." Hearing this, Clara giggled a little. She finally smiled wanly at me before explaining. "Did you know that there's a contest going on in Dewford today?" I cocked my head in confusion. There was? And what about it?

"But there are no contest halls in Dewford..." I started.

"They're using the empty training arena for a makeshift contest hall. Anyway, I thought you would know. So, if there's a contest..." she trailed off. I didn't need to hear the rest of her sentence to understand what she was trying to tell me. She was trying to say that Erika might be there. The girl that had made me angry. But an idea came to my head. I could both take revenge for her insulting Feebas, and I could also teach her about the true beauty of Pokemon. An almost creepy smile appeared on my face. "Can I enter?"

When I saw her nod, I ran to the training arena, praying that Erika would be there.

* * *

"Darn!" I exclaimed. "You have to dress up?" I shook out my one dress and tried it on, the black one with the purple belt. It was far too short now, reaching up to only mid-thigh and hugging my body, making it extremely uncomfortable. I ripped it off and changed back into my normal green polo shirt and black skirt. "Forget it. I'm going in these clothes," I declared, frowning. The old clothes seemed surprisingly tight as well. Clara smiled. "Looks like you had a growth spurt. We'll need to get some new clothes for you."

-At a random shop that Clara had found-

"How about this?" Clara asked, holding up a light purple dress. When I shook my head, she threw the dress back into the box where she had found it and continued searching. All the clothes I had found seemed either too loud or the wrong colour. I scrunched my nose up at a _way _too revealing crimson chiffon dress. Also, I was starting to panic. I hadn't come up with a routine and the contest was in a few hours. 4 hours and 23 minutes, to be exact. And I was stuck at a shop looking for clothes. Luckily, Clara sensed my distress and shooed me off.

"Hey," she said. "I'm totally fine here and you can trust me for my fashion sense. Go practice." Smiling, I fist-bumped her and hurried off. _I am definitely saving Milotic for the last round, so who am I using for the first round? Zebstrika would hate performing, he's better at the battle rounds. Dragonair... well I used her before, I'd like to give someone else a chance. Besides, the appeals would get repetitive. Absol is like Zebstrika; she would want to battle. That leaves Espeon and Ninetales._

I sent the both of them out. "Which one of you would want to take part in the appeal round of a contest?" Both Pokemon looked at each other. They were best friends, and both were just fine with anything. Finally Espeon's voice floated into my head. _I think I'll sit out for this contest. _Nodding, I petted her on the head and returned her to her Poke Ball. Then, I turned to Ninetales. "You ready?" I asked. "Tales!" She responded.

* * *

-After 2 hours-

"Flamethrower, now!" I yelled, and Ninetales launched the blast of flames into the air. It connected with a previous Energy Ball, completely ruining it. A cloud of smoke obscured both of us, leaving me coughing. Wait...obscuring? Contests were supposed to be about bringing out a Pokemon's beauty and skill, not just about how beautiful their attacks were. With that new thought, I turned towards a fresh sheet of paper, thinking for a moment before scribbling an idea down. "Ready to try again?" When I saw that Ninetales was panting slightly from 2 solid hours of hard work and failed attempts, I fed it an Oran Berry. "Let's try this now."

After about an hour, the both of us had a plan. Poor Ninetales was covered in soot and sweat, so I gave it a good washing and pampering. I shampooed her golden fur and sprayed some liquid on it to make it look even shinier and dazzling. I took a bath as well, as I was covered in soot as well. That took about another hour. As I was brushing Ninetales one final time, I saw Clara rushing up with a paper bag in her hand. Breathlessly, she dumped it on my lap. "So you managed to find something?" I asked suspiciously. She nodded. Truthfully, I was kind of worried. I didn't like dresses to start with and I didn't want to go out wearing some monstrosity. I carefully opened it and fingered the garments inside. "Interesting," I said. "I might like it." I found some spare clothes in the bag as well. "Are you sure its in my size?" I asked. Clara shrugged. "My mum was a fashion designer. So I have an eye for this kind of things."

I changed into my outfit- an elbow-length loose-fitting sky blue shirt with a white scarf and a long-sleeved white shirt underneath. I also wore semi-loose white jeans and black satin slippers. I also wore an elaborate black leather belt with baby-blue rhinestones studding it. Also, I had snug woolen navy gloves. It was not only comfortable and fitting, but it was also natural-looking and cool enough. When I stepped out, Clara slid a white pin into my hair, barely keeping my long bangs back. She replaced my silver studs with gold winged earrings. Then, her hands moved quickly and expertly, pulling a small portion of my long black hair into a side ponytail and braided the rest. I protested as she weaved two ribbons, one blue and one white into my hair. She stood up, all done.

"Welcome to the Dewford Town Pokemon Contest! Today, there are a whopping 87 coordinators participating in today's contest. Let's introduce our judges, Mr Contesta, Mr Sukizo and our very own Nurse Joy!" The emcee Lillian announced. (A/N: I really have no idea how to spell their names) I checked the list. I was the third last to compete, which gave me a fair amount of time to observe the competition. The first boy who performed was a complete failure. His Solosis attempted a Psychic but it backfired, hitting itself instead.

I watched on. Among the coordinators, there were quite a few that were good. So far, the one in the lead was a girl called Mindy and her Kirlia. She was admittedly good, giving Erika a run for her money. Talking about Erika, I hadn't seen her at all. What if she wasn't even participating in this darn contest? Thankfully, my question was soon answered by Lillian calling out the next name she saw. "The next coordinator is quite a seasoned one, having already won two Hoenn ribbons! Erika!"

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. Two? She already had obtained so many ribbons?

The redhead in question pranced into the arena, and I noticed that her outfit had changed. Instead of her funky dark magenta dress, orange gloves and orange boots that she usually wore during her contests, she had on a long, dark orange coat that had white buttons up the front. The coat had furry white trimming and her long orange boots were now made of leather and had fancy white and magenta straps that zigzagged up the boots. She also had a gold-yellow beret on her head that was accented by light orange. I decided that the beret either made her look utterly adorable or ruined the whole look. Her russet waves were neatly tucked under her beret and she only allowed some carefully styled waves to hang by her chin.

She tossed a Poke Ball into the air. "Pikachu, time to shine!" The yellow mouse appeared in a burst of electric sparks. It spun around nimbly before landing on the ground, posing. This made the crowd squeal at its adorableness.

Erika called out her first move. "Use Quick Attack!" Pikachu launched itself into the air at an incredible speed. As it was high up, Erika shouted, "Use Thunderbolt to go down!" A bolt of lightning was created and the pudgy mouse aimed it towards the ground. Instead of lowering itself with the attack. Pikachu simply spun and dived into the lightning, making the audience gasp. "Stop and use Electro Ball!" she said. Pikachu nodded, and the lightning bolt disappeared. It whipped up a ball of crackling yellow electricity and held it in the air, using its tail to balance. It appeared to float in the air, but if one looked closely, they could see Pikachu keeping itself airborne by having a thin, barely noticeable line of electricity from the air to the ground, keeping the Electro Ball in place.

"Finish it off with Iron Tail!" she yelled suddenly, and Pikachu's tail turned to metal, conducting electricity away from the ball of energy. Pikachu looked stunning as thin horizontal lines of lightning surrounded it, making it look like Pikachu was in an electric cage. Everyone clapped, even the judges as Pikachu swung its tail, making the Electro Ball shatter into millions of sparks raining down on it. As it landed gracefully, the duo bowed and smiled. Erika swept Pikachu into a hug and petted his head. "Good job!"

"Judges, what are your scores?" The numbers flashed up. 9, 10, 9,5. "28.5! That's an excellent score!" Lillian shouted. I watched. The eleventh last coordinator was out there now. Not long until my turn. I fitted the capsule over Ninetales's Poke Ball. The next few performances whizzed by. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four... As the fourth last coordinator made her way out, I stood up from my seat, walking briskly to the entrance. "And now, Destiny! I believe this girl has only participated in one contest before!"

I walked out into the arena, keeping my calm, stoic expression. I was slightly nervous, with all those eyes on me, especially a pair of emerald ones in the second row. I looked Erika directly in the eye, and she flinched as I shot her not my usual slight smile, but instead a cold, hard glance. I tossed a Poke Ball into the air. "Ninetales, that's your cue!" There was a storm of small orange and gold flames. Before the gold fox appeared, I had already called my first moved. "Will-O-Wisp!" The ghostly bluish-white wisps of flames contrasted with the warm orange ones, giving it an almost fairy-like appearance. Ninetales appeared in the center of a ring of gold and blue flames, opening its eyes. The flames illuminated her coat, making it look like the gleaming gold was flickering and changing colour all the time.

"Use Flamethrower," I stated, and Ninetales wildly shot a burst of white-hot flames into the air. "Now Extrasensory!" Ninetales's eyes glowed and she released a burst of psychic energy into the air, making the Flamethrower divide to form about six to seven spheres of fire. "Iron Tail! Hit the spheres!" I commanded. Ninetales's nine tails turned to rock-solid metal and she flicked the fireballs into the air one after another. Soon, she was easily juggling all seven of them. Everyone was nodding their heads approvingly at this skill.

"Faster!" I called. Ninetales whipped her tails around quickly, drawing multiple circles and patterns in the air. The fireballs were being juggled so fast that they almost looked like a ring of burning flames. They formed different shapes in the air, as Ninetales became faster and faster. Everyone started cheering as they saw the flames in the air. Finally, Ninetales stopped, letting the flames gather. Everyone held their breath apprehensively as they watched the huge cloud of fire in the air, suspended for a moment before starting to fall. Even I was nervous. This was the most crucial moment after all.

At what I hoped was the right moment, I shouted, "Extrasensory!" The psychic energy crashed into the flames, but they were unable to stop the giant cloud from falling onto Ninetales. I smiled. This was exactly what I had planned. The flames didn't smash into Ninetales- well there would be no effect anyway- but instead cloaked her in a veil of fire. Her magnificent golden coat was gloriously ablaze, and she looked absolutely stunning but dangerous at the same time.

After some time, the veil of flames wore off and the fire exploded into small gold sparkles, some flying through the arena and some settling on Ninetales's fur, making it glitter subtly in the soft warm light. And I had to say, a sparkling Ninetales was pretty _darn _beautiful.

I held my breath. I had aced it-or so I thought. My plan worked. I just hoped that the judges would like it. The sounds of the audience clapping seemed muffled and faraway as I stared at the black abyss they called screens, waiting for the digital red numbers to pop up.

9.5. OK. 9.5 was a good score.

10. That was even better. Nurse Joy was taking some time. I was fiddling with the earrings nervously. Hurry up, Nurse Joy! Finally, a number flashed on the screen.

10.

10!

"And Destiny's in the lead with an absolutely amazing 29.5!"

* * *

**That was hard! And it took me forever to write it! And am I the only one who thinks Destiny's contest outfit looks like Winona's? **

**Was it wrong that I was thinking about the Hunger Games during the Ninetales-on-fire part?**

**Again, sorry for the sucky writing and its totally OK if you hate it. Critiques are welcome (cause I obviously need help) and please review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**This is part 2 of the contest. A lot of battles here, so bear with me. And this battle is pretty long. Erika better have a change or else...**

**Erika: Or else what?**

**Me: You'll get a taste of my Mega Absol Dusk in my Pokemon Y. Anyway enjoy!**

* * *

Erika looked like she half wanted to run up to me and pretend that nothing ever happened. But she didn't. I knew the other half of her was still scared that I was angry at her. I knew I couldn't keep holding a grudge forever, but I wanted to at least teach her a lesson. I was stubborn like that. I had, without question, got into the second round. Ninetales was at my side, waiting for the battles to start. I would be using Espeon in the second round as she could pull of many stunts with her psychic powers. Absol was for the second round to surprise people, and if I got that far, Milotic was for the third and final round. I had figured out a few combos that they could use.

Clara was off training. Heh, I could understand why. Contests were pretty long-winded and boring sometimes and she wasn't even participating. Why waste time watching some people battle in an elegant and beautiful way when you could be off growing stronger? Not that I hated contests, but still, being a trainer, I could understand how she felt. However, she had promised me that she would be there to watch the final battle.

I absentmindedly stroked Espeon's silken lilac fur as the elegant fox-like Pokemon purred contentedly. She looked up at me and her gem glowed, using her psychic powers. _Destiny? You're going to forgive her no matter who wins, right? _she asked mentally. I sent my thoughts back to her.

_The outcome of the battle doesn't matter. I just want to see if she's changed. I hope she has, at least. _The blue light surrounding Espeon's gem faded as she closed her eyes, resting. Or maybe she could be meditating. No one knew. I knew there was an hour's break before the next round, so I didn't bother changing out of my outfit. I inwardly smirked. What would happen if Red saw me? I did look different, much taller, a little thinner, and more serious. Heck, I had even been convinced by Erika to pierce my ears.

_No, no, no! _I shook my head clear of these thoughts. I couldn't let myself be distracted by Red. I would probably end up either going insane, obtaining OCD or slipping into depression, none of which I wanted. Out of choices A, B, or C, I decided for choices D and E- D being none of the above and E being to let the harsh separation fuel me to become stronger. Did I mention that he was my hero and I had always wanted to beat him?

I shrank back as I saw the redhead weaving her way through the crowd to get to me, a small, apologetic smile on her face. I shot her down with a glare instead, and turned away. Her shoulders drooped and there was a definite drag in her step as she walked away. Espeon decided to chat with me again. Her voice floated into my head. _That was pretty rude. Why didn't you forgive her? She sounded pretty sincere. _I sighed. It was so much more complicated than that.

"Coordinators, please proceed to the arena now! We have our first match-ups, Tia and Destiny, Mindy and Erika, Em and Ricky, and Vicky and Phillip!" Lillian shouted. I winced. Did everyone always have to be so loud? Beating Tia with Espeon was pretty easy. She had a Kadabra (Gosh, what was it with all these Psychic types?) and Espeon practically slaughtered it when she used Iron Tail to knock a Shadow Ball into it. I was just _boom, _and then, just like that, I was done. I was now seated on a bench, looking at Erika battle Mindy. Instead of the Kirlia, Mindy used a Shieldon. Erika had chosen Delcatty to battle. The purple cat had a serious expression on her face as she faced off against the small fossil Pokemon.

"Shieldon, use Dig and then Iron Head!" That small Pokemon was defensive for its size. Despite recently being hit with an Iron Tail to the face. Well, with such a bulky shield for a face, I shouldn't have been too surprised. The little Pokemon rapidly dug multiple holes in the arena before cannonballing out of holes like a rocket. It struck Delcatty over and over again, and things were not looking so good. I felt like screaming _Use Sing! _at her, but I didn't. I somehow knew knew that she could work it out herself. She had won several contests in Kanto, Johto or even Hoenn. How hard could it be to figure out a simple move for a contest battle? I knew she could feel my eyes on her, and that was somehow making the redhead nervous, like she didn't want to mess up even more. I tore my gaze away for just a moment. _She's having a panic attack. She doesn't know what to do._

We were on a...break, but hey, we were previously friends. So I spoke to her for the first time in ages. Amongst the cheering for Mindy, I sounded really awkward and alone. My solitary voice carried out through the audience as they stared at me, the girl who had made short work of her opponent in the first round. "Calm down." Erika just stared at me. My eyes weren't focused on her, but were instead focused on the seconds ticking away at the clock. Two minutes left. Just two. "Calm down," I repeated. I felt _really _weird speaking to her. "You know what to do." One minute forty-six seconds and Erika's points were slowly going down while Mindy's points had only decreased a little.

Erika managed a half-smile at me before calling out her move. "Use Sing!" The Pokemon opened its mouth and released a stream of musical notes, creating a beautiful, soothing lullaby. Even I was starting to feel drowsy and I quickly clamped my hands over my ears. Shieldon let out loud snores as it quickly dropped to the ground, fast asleep. "Wake up, Shieldon!" Mindy cried desperately. "Use Iron Tail and Charge Beam!" Erika stated.

Delcatty's tail glowed and turned to metal before it fired the Charge Beam straight up its tail. Crackling with electricity, Delcatty slammed her tail into the sleeping Pokemon, making it fly back a few feet. Despite this, Shieldon's eyes were still closed. Erika smirked as Mindy started to panic. "Finish with Shadow Ball!" Shieldon didn't stand a chance as Delcatty summoned up a giant ball of wispy darkness. She even surprised me by splitting them into several smaller spheres. All of Mindy's points went down as the small spheres pounded Shieldon, making it faint on the spot. I risked another glance at her. She was surprised when what she saw in my eyes wasn't anger, but mainly confusion and contemplation. I was confused. Had she changed. She seemed to...I guess I would know if I made it to the finals.

The next round was me against Em. Her appeal round was pretty decent, and she had beaten the other coordinator-Ricky I think- without much difficulty. She tossed a Poke Ball into the air and a Lucario came out in a silver pillar of steel. _Oh, crud. _I thought. With the Pokemon I was using, I was at a type disadvantage. But I always had plan B, right? Luckily, I had focused on both a strength and weakness on Absol. Strength being its good physical power and speed, and weakness being a lack of type advantages. Solution? Good coverage on moves. I was pretty sure that would work. A Lucario's attack would hurt, but I could...somehow...do something about it...right?

Absol appeared in a burst of dark energy spiraling into the sky. Absol looked serious and determined. She always was like this, focused on winning and never letting anything ruin her concentration. Lucario just waved at her with his hand, as if taunting her. Absol didn't even flinch or get mad like Dragonair. That was what I liked about her. No matter what happened, Absol would always be steady and focused. Well you couldn't be fooled... Absol was quite a different story outside of battle.

"Use Power-up Punch!" "Dodge!" Absol nimbly dodged the attacks that Lucario threw at her. The Egyptian-god like Pokemon may have had a type advantage and power on his side, but he didn't have speed. Every time he used a punching move, he found his fist connecting with thin air. Every time he tried Aura Sphere, Absol was right at the opposite end of the arena when it crash-landed into the ground. As for Flash Cannon, the dodging method was exactly the same. I took this chance to power up with a series of Swords Dances. There was one time, by pure luck, where Absol happened to be in the sky, and sunlight bounced off the glowing swords, beautifying everything.

Now, Em had lost more than a quarter of her points and I hadn't even attacked yet. She growled. "Will you cut it out with the running? Aura Sphere- hey, wait, where did it go?" It was true, Absol was nowhere

to be seen- at least on the ground. I smirked. "Forgot to look somewhere? Use Psycho Cut!" Em finally realized and looked hopelessly at the sky, where the sun cast a dark shadow on Absol, making the dark-type look even more menacing. The razor-sharp tip of her horn was glowing brightly in the light, not to mention the entire horn was lit up in magenta. Lucario was flung into a wall, fainted. "That makes Destiny move on to the finals!"

Erika had quickly defeated Phillip- he was pretty weak, after all. I turned around to go buy a drink when someone plunked a cup of fruit punch in my hand. I saw a grinning Clara, so I assumed the training session went well. "I wasn't late, was I?" She asked. I shook my head. "One more hour until the finals." We just chatted away for the next hour, occasionally pausing to praise Absol, who had transformed from silent, serious ninja to energetic tomboy. When there was about half an hour left, I suddenly face palmed. "What's wrong?" Clara asked. "I forgot to groom Milotic since the Gym battle!" That was a definite emergency.

Fortunately, Clara was very, _very _helpful. When I let Milotic out, she was already at work, her arms methodically hosing dirt and stains of Milotic's cream scales, rubbing special ointments that I had no idea about into her skin, making Milotic smell heavenly. I helped out by drying her with a towel, spraying her with that liquid which made her look glossy, and washing her dirty fins so that they were once again their deep, vivid pink. When we were finished, Milotic's serpentine body of scales were spotless and shimmery, her fins clean, and her mosaic-patterned tail waving happily around. I hung the pendant around her neck. "Honestly, Milotic, that Kabuto used Surf on you. Didn't it, I don't know, wash you or something?" Milotic did a snake version of a shrug. "Milo Tic."

* * *

"And now the final battle's about to begin! On my left, its Destiny, rumored to be the newest Johto League Champion! What a trainer is doing here, I have no idea! Let's give her a warm welcome!" There was a round of clapping as I made my way to the arena. When I was just about to enter, I felt something being stuck into my hair. "Wha..." I looked back to see a black-and-white magpie feather peeking out of my hair tie. Clara clapped me on the shoulder. "Go kick some butt."

"Thanks."

I was interrupted by Lillian, who started speaking again. "And on my right, it's Erika! A seasoned Coordinator who has achieved many accomplishments in both Kanto and Johto!" Erika stepped onto the chalked-out space opposite me. "BEGIN!" Erika started by throwing her Poke Ball. "Dragalge, time to shine!" There was a mini tornado of indigo poison bubbles that concealed Dragalge. Suddenly, a Water Pulse caused the tornado to burst open, revealing the indigo and brown kelp Pokemon floating in that case of water.

I flung mine as well. "Milotic, that's your cue!" Columns of water erupted around Milotic as she appeared. Then, she used Aqua Tail to smash them, causing ocean blue sparkles to rain down on her. She was in a calm pose, curled up on the floor backwards, crimson eyes glaring at the other, slender tail poised in the air, ready to strike. For a few seconds, no Pokemon moved, the tension in the air almost electric. It was as though the two had picked up on our emotions. Finally, with a small sigh, Erika commanded Dragalge to use Twister and then Thunderbolt. I remained calm as the giant electric tornado bore down on Milotic. "Use Light Screen." A translucent gold screen surrounded Milotic, halving the damage that it took. It was pushed back a little, but it lived. I could see my points dropping about a fifth.

"So," I started the conversation. "Your Skrelp evolved." Honestly, that was the only thing I could think of. After a while, Erika nodded. "Yeah. Your Feebas too." I didn't say anything to her, instead, "Milotic, Attract!" Hearts surrounded the Pokemon,causing it to fall in love with Milotic. I wanted to feel angry at her. I honestly did. But I couldn't muster up much anger. I mean, it was still there, but more along the lines of _subtle. _I felt more...forgiving.

"I don't know what to say. I was really mad at first, you know? But now...you seem to have changed. Like your style," I told her, hesitatingly. Erika told Dragalge to use Sludge Bomb, but he was too desperately in love. Standing in this arena in a costume...it felt really out of place to talk. But trainers communicated with battling, and I supposed Coordinates communicated best through contests. After Erika's points went down by a quarter, she told her Pokemon to attack itself. It worked, Dragalge managed to break free of the spell. The numbers on the timer said 4.00. Four minutes left to sort this out. We continued staring at each other. "I was mad too, and a little...confused? I even called you Little Miss Perfect when you left." I cocked my head to the side. Perfect? I definitely was far from perfect.

"Erika, I have no clue what you were thinking, but I am not perfect. I have many flaws, just like any human on this earth," I stated. Meanwhile, the Pokemon were beginning to fight their own battle. They were so in tune with their trainer's emotions, they knew what we wanted them to do. Both our points went down a little. I registered Milotic sweeping her tail in a wide, graceful arc, water exploding out, followed with an Ice Beam that caused a wave of ice and water to hit Dragalge. Dragalge's kelp-like parts glowed as it used Sludge Bomb and Thunderbolt. Milotic grunted in pain and both our points were equal now- exactly one quarter left.

Time. 1.31.

"Since I joined you, I didn't think of you as a... a friend, a real friend. You were always so strong, and won every battle. I looked up to you as a leader, not a friend. Like a robot...you were kind of distant sometimes."

"W-What? I can assure you that I'm perfectly human, not some android built by Team Rocket. And I certainly don't win every battle. I-I treated you as a friend. I have many flaws, including being stubborn," I said with a hint of my old self. My eyes brimmed with tears.

Erika stood there, stunned, before realizing that I had just apologized to her. "Thank you Destiny! I'm sorry too! Friends?" I pretended to think for a moment.

"Friends."

Time. 0.42.

"What do you say we end this? Dragalge, Dragon Tail!" I nodded. "Milotic, Return!" This was a true test of the bond between Trainer and Pokemon. Milotic glowed brightly, charging into Dragalge as it swung its tail at her. Both moves clashed and the Pokemon were thrown back. They slowly got back up and stared at each other, a friendly glint in their eyes. Now that their trainers had buried the hatchet, it was time they did too. Besides, they were friends before, why not now?

Time. 0.05.

It was the last five seconds. Both Pokemon seemed to smile at each other before finally, a winner was decided as one of the Pokemon fell to the floor.

* * *

**Who's the winner? This was a pretty long chapter by my standards. *Peeks at word count* OMG WHAT 3000+ WORDS? WHAT THE HECK?! AM I CRAZY?**

**Red: You kinda are.**

**Me: I have Dusk right here. And she's holding an Absolite. So get out. Why are you here? Like, in my room? Stalker much?**

**Destiny: Don't mess with my creator. I have my Dragonair and she learnt Outrage. Oh and Nyx has been giving me karate lessons.**

**Red: I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ANYMORE! *Gulps and runs***

***Coughs*Erika is going to join Clara and Destiny again. Next chapter will be...interesting? Not. Chapter 23 will be (I think). Anyway, please review! Critiques welcome!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Me: *Tap...tap...click...* YES!**

**Destiny: What?!**

**Me: I finally have a cover picture for this. It's not very impressive but it works. And sorry for the long wait, I was busy with school stuff. Post exam.**

**Destiny: Stop rambling and get to the point.**

**Me: I lied...? Sort of. I said that the next chapter was going to be interesting. I shifted the action into this chapter. DON'T KILL ME! EEP! *Runs away leaving Destiny alone***

**Destiny: So I guess I have to say the disclaimer. NyxAbsol doesn't own anything except the story plot and her OCs. Please enjoy.**

* * *

We didn't care what the outcome was anymore. We were friends again, and that was what mattered. Even so, I let my gaze travel to the ground, curious. Milotic was still standing on the battlefield, scratches covering her once pristine coat. She was panting heavily, but otherwise she seemed to be fine. Meanwhile, Dragalge had swirls in its eyes as it lay on the ground, defeated. Erika gasped before rushing over to her fallen Pokemon. Dragalge groaned as it woke up, looking at Erika with miserable eyes. The redhead smiled as she tenderly stroked her Pokemon. "It's OK, you did your best!" she soothed, before returning him to his Poke Ball.

"And the winner is Destiny!" There were loud cheers from the crowd. "That was a truly moving battle! Now we will present the ribbon-" Lillian was cut of by me walking up and snatching the ribbon. "Thank you, but I'm a trainer, not a Coordinator. This ribbon has no use to me. Hey Erika, catch!" I tossed the red ribbon into the air, and Erika grabbed it, grinning. We laughed lightly as we exited the arena, seeing everyone's bewildered expressions.

"You _so _kicked butt," Clara told me as I reached her. Erika stared at her, unsure what to do. She hadn't met Clara and had no idea what to do. Clara returned the stare coolly, not budging an inch. I could feel the slight tension between them. I gulped. Looks like there where going to be some friendship problems. My hopes of everyone getting along fine seemed to dissipate. Now I was stuck in an extremely awkward situation. The two were just standing there, staring, no _glaring _at each other for almost a full minute, not saying anything. Finally, Erika spoke and broke the tense silence. "So," she said. "You're..."

"Clara," The other redhead stated. "And you're Erika." Erika glared at her, nodding. "So who are you, and why are you with Destiny?" She asked coldly.

"Let's just say that I'm a trainer, and Destiny found herself a better traveling companion." Was the reply. The two started to argue and I groaned. Knowing these two, they could go on for a long time. This was going to be just _wonderful. _Not.

"Well now that I'm back, you can go now."

"How about no? You can go if you want."

"I changed. Get it?"

"Whatever, I still care more about Pokemon than some _coordinator." _The word was emphasized with particular distaste. Erika, who had always been hotheaded, shot back a reply.

"Are you saying that you're better?"

"I am-" I felt a migraine coming on. I usually wasn't the type to shout in a public place, but I was fed up with those two arguing. "Can the both of you just SHUT UP?!" My sentence was more like an order than a question. My two friends both fell silent, looking at me. "Can't we all travel together? You're acting like spoiled five-year-old brats!" They both glared at each other before refusing to talk. Rolling my eyes, I headed to the nearest toilet to change.

I looked at the new clothes Clara had bought for me. They weren't that bad, in fact, they felt pretty comfortable. I had on a sleeveless button-up shirt made out of light denim, a pleated black skirt that somewhat resembled my old one and dark brown suede boots. I shook my hair free of the clasp that kept it in a braid, combed it so that it was once again straight and not all wavy and fluffy, and pulled it into a ponytail. I stepped out of the cubicle, noticing Erika come out of another one. Her outfit had changed as well. She wore a short-sleeved magenta jacket over a pale golden-orange shirt, a tiered orange and white skirt that flared out when she moved, long, stripy socks that reached just below her knee and purple and magenta boots.

"Listen, Erika," I told her, "Can't you just get along with Clara?"

"I don't like her."

"Please. Please? I'm saying it." True, Erika had never heard me plead with anyone before, not even her.

"Fine, fine!" Smiling, I walked out of the toilet. "We can go to the gym now! And I'm first this time," I stated. Clara readily agreed. We quickly reached the Dewford Gym. Erika was at least making an effort to be friends. "I heard this gym uses-" She was cut off by Clara. "I don't need your help! Right, Destiny?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You don't?" I winked at her, silently telling her to get along. "Maybe I do," She admitted reluctantly. "As I was saying before _someone interrupted me, _this gym uses Fighting type Pokemon." _Hmm. Fighting types? I guess I could use Espeon, and I do feel like using Zebstrika._

"Well Zweilous needs to stay away. I guess I should go with Blastoise and Cherubi then." Clara said, thinking. She failed to notice the Poke Ball at her side vibrating with displeasure. _Not again! I must find a way to get revenge. How about..._

* * *

I never expected the gym leader to be like this. A young man with spiky blue hair in surfing clothes, holding a surfboard at his side. "_You're _the gym leader?" Erika asked incredulously, obviously thinking the same thoughts. He nodded. "I'm Brawly. So who's here for the gym battle?" he drawled. Me and Clara stepped forward. Snapping his fingers, a battlefield rose to the surface. It was large and plain, just like almost every other regulation arena in every other gym in every other region.

I walked to one end of the arena, marked out with white chalk. The gym leader casually took his place at the other man. I still didn't think he was suited to be a gym leader. He seemed to casual and laid-back, like he didn't take life seriously. My eyes narrowed. He tossed his first Poke Ball into the air. "Machop, let's go!" A gray, muscular Pokemon popped out, getting into a fighting stance. "Zebstrika, that's your cue!" The zebra appeared in a burst of blue light. It pawed restlessly at the ground, waiting to begin.

Brawly called the first move. "Karate Chop!" Machop lunged at Zebstrika, its two arms glowing white. "Use Agility to dodge!" I commanded, and Zebstrika increased its speed, easily dodging. "Agility, maximize your speed," I stated. Soon, the zebra was zipping around in a black and white blur, avoiding the multiple Karate Chops and Low Sweeps hurled its way. There were too many to count, and eventually, I was bored. "End it with-" Just then, Machop got a lucky shot and Zebstrika came crashing down to the floor. "You OK?" Zebstrika snorted and stood up, like, _Are you serious? 'Course I'm fine!_

"Thunderbolt!" Machop got hit dead on with the deadly lightning bolt and it fainted instantly. Brawly returned Machop, smirking. I couldn't figure out this guy's secret and that was worrying. I had just defeated one of his Pokemon and he still seemed pretty relaxed. "What's your problem?!" I snapped. "Take a good look at your Zebstrika." He was breathing heavily, a fine sheen of sweat making his fur glisten. I growled. It-was-all-a-TRAP! I had gotten overconfident and commanded Zebstrika to dodge the attacks when I could have just told him to attack directly. Now Zebstrika was tired out. I had underestimated this Gym Leader and I had messed up big-time.

"Even a highly-trained Pokemon like your Zebstrika can't dodge so many attacks without getting tired! Now he's in no match to fight! And with that, go Makuhita!" The rotund yellow Pokemon that resembled a punching bag appeared.

"Arm Thrust!" "Dodge!" However, Zebstrika was too tired and got repeatedly hit with a barrage of fierce attacks. He stumbled back, shaking his head violently to get rid of the dizziness. "Use Thunderbolt!" Sparks flew from Zebstrika's spiky mane as it unleashed a powerful blast of electricity. Makuhita got to its feet. "Finish it with Vital Throw!" Zebstrika was flung into the air and landed back on the ground, unconscious. I returned it to its Poke Ball. "You did great, Zebstrika. It was my fault." I pulled out my next Poke Ball. "Espeon, that's your cue!"

The purple fox-like Pokemon gracefully jumped out of its ball. Brawly was rambling on about a surfing technique that Makuhita had perfected, enabling him to be undefeated, blah blah blah. Makuhita stood there looking all smug before launching itself at Espeon, who barely had time to react. Makuhita missed her by a hair and Espeon swung her glowing tail at Makuhita. It wasn't very effective, so Makuhita was still standing, though it was pretty beat up from Thunderbolt and Iron Tail.

"Use Arm Thrust!" "Reflect!" A shield went up and Espeon gritted her teeth as she endured the attacks. "...And that's the secret of-" I was getting seriously annoyed. "Hey Brawly, you may have taught me not to be overconfident but you sure are confident."

"What-" I continued talking.

"And do you know what's better than aggression and surfing technique?"

"Hmm?"

"Strategy and grace! No more fooling around, Espeon!" The purple Pokemon brilliantly dodged the next series of attacks, showing amazing grace and speed. Her jewel then glowed brightly, and a powerful Psychic energy shot into Makuhita, knocking him onto the ground, fainted.

Brawly frowned. He returned his Pokemon before holding out a box to me. "I believe this now belongs to you." On a cushion of blue velvet was the shiny new Knuckle Badge. Thanking him, I took the badge and slipped it inside the locket. Espeon purred happily and leaped onto the seat at the grandstand. I joined her and watched Clara prepare for battle. He put his Poke Balls on tray and took out two more. "Go, Meditite!" A blue and white Pokemon in a meditating position floated in the air. Clara smiled as she threw her Poke Ball into the battlefield.

"Go, Blastoise!" Instead of the massive blue turtle, a navy blue and black two-headed dragon came out, growling angrily. From under the shaggy fur, its red eyes seemed to have a malicious glint in them. Everyone was shocked. "Z-Zweilous?!" He started glowing white and changing form. Its two heads split and became three heads, wings sprouted from its back and he grew much larger.

The white light faded, revealing a fearsome winged dragon that roared. Clara gasped. "Hydreigon..."

Hydreigon roared before turning to Clara, three spheres of energy forming in his mouths. "GET OUT OF THERE!" I screamed, running towards my friend. But Clara only stood there in a trance, shocked, unable to react. Three blasts of energy headed towards us, and I could barely register Erika's shouting over the deafening sounds. The battlefield started to crack and even the roof was caving in.

The last thing I recalled was a huge explosion blowing everyone of their feet before everything went black.

* * *

***Comes back into room* Am I safe? I think so. Sorry for the shorter chapter. The Zweilous-Hydreigon Saga finally begins.**

**Clara: *Sobs* MY HYDREIGON!  
**

**Destiny: That was pretty mean, Nyx.**

**Me+Tsuki: It's called plot.**

**Me:...Wait, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the beyblade fanfic!**

**Tsuki: I was bored. See ya. *Leaves and runs into Red***

**Red: *Is in a bad mood, punches Tsuki***

**Tsuki: You are so dead. *Starts beating up Red***

**Red: THE PAIN! *Gets chased by Tsuki***

**Me: Critiques welcome and please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**New chapter up! This chapter actually has very little to do with the Zweilous Saga. It's more of a memories chapter for Destiny. Sorry, Destiny. Hey, where did she go?**

**Destiny: *Sits in emo corner* WHY?**

**Me: Um...Sorry... Anyway please enjoy this chapter? I don't own Pokemon. I would love to, though. But that's not relevant.**

* * *

Everything around me was pitch black. I could only feel a dull throb in my head that worsened with each passing minute. There was some unfamiliar voices around me. Tiredly, I opened my eyes. Now the light was blinding me. I brought my hand up to my eyes to shield them. There was a "sorry!" before I could hear the sound of a blind being pulled down. The lighting was dimmer, and I removed my hand. I then looked around at the room I was in.

I frowned. How did I get here? I was lying on a bed, with a blanket pulled over me. Nurse Joy had a worried expression on her face as she checked my temperature. Was this the Pokemon Center? I could feel a bandage wrapped around me head, and besides the headache, I felt normal. "What happened? I only remember that explosion..." There was a sharp pain in my head as I tried to sit up. Nurse Joy propped me up on two pillows. "Are you OK? How do you feel?"

"Apart from the splitting headache, I'm fine," I replied. She sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Arceus..." A redhead-Erika ran into my room. She had a few bruises and cuts, but mostly she was fine. "E-Erika? Where's Clara?"

"She's still out."

I leaped off the bed, despite Nurse Joy and Erika's protests, and ran to the next ward where I believed Clara was in. She lay still on the bed, a blood-stained bandage wrapped tightly around her elbow. A large patch of white gauze was on her forehead, and she had multiple other grazes on her arms. I looked at her, worried. "How long?" I asked. "You've been out for two days."

"_Days?!_" I exclaimed. Sitting down on a nearby chair, I sighed. There were two Pokemon that I could use, well, only one was needed right now. I remembered watching the stars with Daddy one day. It was an especially beautiful night, hundreds, no thousands, no, millions of tiny silver stars glittered in the sky. I was six at that time, and of course I was enchanted by the magical sight. Six-year-olds tend to be fascinated by a lot of things.

* * *

_"How many are there, Daddy?" I asked, trying to count the stars. He gently stopped me. "Millions, darling, you can't count them. So you might as well not try." I frowned. The hill we sat on offered us a great view, and I could almost see the entire sky, stretching out and out and out, out to infinity. "You'll never know if you don't try."_

_"Certainly. Hey, I wish I could have my own Pokemon! That way I could fly everywhere and count the stars!" I said._

_He chuckled. "Be careful what you wish for." And after a while, he spoke again, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Do you want to see some friends of mine?" I nodded, curious. He whistled once. a clear, high note that pierced the air. Then he whistled again, but this time two short, sharp notes._

_We waited for a while. I was starting to get bored and sleepy. "Daddy..." "Yes, darling, they're coming soon." I yawned and nestled my head in his lap, my eyes sliding close, embracing the inviting abyss of sleep when suddenly..._

_I could hear sounds, Pokemon sounds at my ears. Surprised, my eyes snapped open and I saw two creatures in front of me. One was small and one was bigger. The small one perched on my shoulder while the big one landed next to me. I gasped in happiness. Two Pokemon! They landed on my shoulders, chattering away to me in that mysterious Pokemon language. This was literally the closest I had ever gotten to a Pokemon. Before this, I was only allowed to watch eggs hatch behind a locked glass door. Too fragile, Daddy always said, you might injure them. So I was a good girl and just watched, squashing my face up against the cool surface of the glass to get as close as possible. Of course, once the Pokemon grew up they might be strong and I could stroke them, right?_

_Wrong. These Pokemon weren't Daddy's. They were other trainers'. True, he owned a small number of Pokemon, like Death the Dragonite, Trident the Gyrados and Rosalina the Roserade. There was a few others, but I couldn't remember. So, as soon as a perfect Pokemon was bred, a flawless, perfect Pokemon, they were given away._

_I giggled and squirmed as the two Pokemon fought for space. All of a sudden, voices entered my head._

_"Who is this new human?"_

_"I don't know. Master said that he was his daughter."_

_"So she must be nice." I gasped, sitting bolt upright. The two Pokemon just smiled sweetly at my innocence. My father laughed, telling me that they liked me. "That's why they chose to communicate using telepathy." I stroked them, enjoying the feeling of their warm skin beneath my hand. It went this way for a long time until they told me they had to leave. "BYE!" I shouted as they disappeared into the darkness. I could have sworn I heard their melodic voices in my head._

_"Bye! We'll see you again!"_

* * *

Nurse Joy bundled me back onto my bed. "What you need to recover is rest. Plenty of it." It was only a stupid headache. Did I really need to be cooped up in a room? Usually I was fine with rooms, but this private ward was pretty small. I was a little claustrophobic. Like, 99% of the time I was totally fine, but this was the 1% of the time I hated being in small spaces. I tried to coax them to let me out. Trying my best puppy-dog eyes, I pleaded with Erika. "Just for half an hour." She shook her head, laughing.

"No. Nu-uh. And did I mention you suck at puppy dog eyes?" I glared at her. I had one more trick left. And Erika wouldn't like it at all. I had an evil smile on my face. As I opened my mouth, she cut me off. "OK, I give in. Just PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

The only compromise was that I had to be in a wheelchair. That didn't make me especially happy, but hey, better than not going outside at all. I spread my arms wide. "Sunshine!" My eyes were adjusted to the bright light and Erika wheeled me around the gardens. There, I could see several sick and injured Pokemon recuperating. A Poochyena with a bandaged paw bounded up to me, almost knocking me off the wheelchair with limitless energy. Laughing, I stroked its gray fur. "Hey, buddy." Noticing that its bandage was coming loose, I tied it firmly and let him go.

There was an outdoor TV for patients, although me and Clara were the only ones here now. I flicked the channel to show one of Red's battles. Hey, I was _bored._ Besides, it would be interesting to see what he looked like when he was eleven. The screen blinked before showing the battle.

TV Red was shorter and had scruffy black hair. He wore a different cap than now, and he held a Poke Ball in his hand confidently. A confident smirk was etched on his face. _So he was always this arrogant? _I thought to myself. He wore a short-sleeved zip-up red jacket with black sleeves, baggy aqua jeans as well as red and black sneakers. He threw his Poke Ball into the air. "Go, Charizard!" He said, and the familiar orange dragon appeared, looking every bit as majestic as it did now.

I ignored the slight pang of longing and forced myself to concentrate on the screen in front of me. _I wish I could see you again...but we're so far away..._

I tried to predict Red's every move. It wasn't so hard, since he battled with boldness and confidence. That was his usual strategy. But I could see that he stumbled when he was younger. Talented, yes, but lacking technique. Now, some of that brashness still remained, but there was a definite change to each move he made. He thought quickly, and took chances. It paid off. His Pokemon's attacks were strong, and they were well-trained. With both some, I emphasize on _some, _strategy and strength, he was almost unstoppable.

I couldn't believe how different my battling style was. For exactly one month, I tried to copy him. He was my role model. However, I failed terribly. I lacked Red's strength. I still remember that day when I had rebelled against him.

* * *

_"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Red commanded. The dragon let loose a controlled stream of flames towards me. When he saw me thinking, he scowled, scolding me. "Destiny, believe in yourself more and take the plunge! Or else it will be too late!" I raised an eyebrow. Maths had always been my forte, and even now, I calculated with ease the average time it would take a Flamethrower to reach Dragonair. I still had a good three seconds._

_On the last second, I called my move. "Dragon Pulse into the tree!" The blast sent the tree crashing down into the path of the flames. For a few minutes, the tree was consumed by the dancing wisps of fire. Finally, there was a sizzle as the last spark was doused and the only thing left was the charred remains of the trunk and the smoke curling up._

_"Destiny! You're doing it wrong! You were supposed to-"_

_I smirked at him. "According to me, I'm doing it right. Dragonair, Water Pulse!" A saucer of water slammed into Charizard, making him flinch and shake off the droplets. Dragonair took that chance to get close and shoot another Dragon Pulse._

_"Now Dragon Dance!" Dragonair glowed, increasing its attack and speed. Red had a sadistic smile on his face. "End it with Blast Burn!" Charizard didn't hold back this time, launching a massive fireball towards us. Keep calm, I thought, keep calm._

_"Mirror Coat!" That was my secret weapon. One that I had been hiding from Red just so I could surprise it. Red had no time to react as a blast of fire twice the size of the fireball headed back towards Charizard. It shook its head, worn out. "Dragon Tail!" Dragonair winced at the super-effective move. We had been at this for a long time. Dragonair was worn out. Red shrugged as he noted the collapse blue serpentine dragon on the snow. "Looks like it's game over."_

_Just then, Dragonair stood up, trembling all over, her body covered with scratches and injuries. She was pushing herself beyond her limits, just for me, her trainer, no, her best friend. She fired another Dragon Pulse, but the pain made her dizzy and miss._

_I couldn't watch any more. "Enough. I forfeit."_

_"What?!" Red exclaimed. "A true Pokemon trainer does not forfeit! Dragonair is standing. That means we continue."_

_"No," It was the first time I dared to defy him. "The battle's already lost. There's no point." I sprayed a Full Restore on my injured Pokemon. With that, I ran into the woods, the place I always went to when I was sad. I didn't miss the small smile on his face. "She's learning."_

_-In the woods-_

_I stroked Dragonair's head. "You think we should go back?" It was getting dark and all I had was a small bundle of berries which was running out. Dragonair shook her head, a glint in her dark, laughing eyes. I grinned mischievously. "You know what? Let's make him worry." I stood up from where I was seated and went to pick more berries._

_After another hour, I saw a beam of light headed my way. Giggling, I returned Dragonair and ducked inside a bush. "Destiny?" I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle the laughing. "Destiny! I hear you!" I secretly scaled a tree. "Over hereeeeeee~" I called before ducking down. He looked up and frowned. I jumped from tree to tree. "Here!" "No, silly, here!" "Looking for someone?" Red looked around, growing more and more annoyed. "Come down NOW."_

_I pouted. "You spoil all the fun. I jumped onto the shortest tree I could see before leaping onto Red, squashing him. The laughter we had was unforgettable. "So what did you learn today?" He asked. "That you are an idiot."_

_He put on the best poker face he could...and failed. "No, I'm serious." _

_"That my battling style involves precise calculations and strategy."_

_"Well, at least you learned something useful!"_

* * *

"And the winner of this battle is Red!" I blinked. The battle was over already? Erika looked at me with a concerned expression on her face. "You miss him, don't you." I sighed. I couldn't hide anything from her. I nodded slightly, threading my fingers together. "A little."

Then, I remembered what I had come out for. I put two fingers to my lips, and whistled, trying to imitate my father. I thought of what my two friends had told me.

_If you need help, just whistle. We'll come._

One short call for the first one, and then two shorter, shriller calls. I waited for ten minutes, silencing Erika. This was the average time they took to reach me. Erika stared at me. "What are you-" I shushed her when I could see two Pokemon-my childhood friends- approaching.

_We're here!_

I smiled as the small one leaped into my arms and the bigger one landed in front of me. Erika gaped at them, as if she had just found treasure. "Erika, meet my friends-" I was cut off by her screaming at me so loud that I had to cover my ears. That girl was loud.

"How in the world did you manage to get these two?!"

* * *

**:) Hope you enjoyed this. Can you guess the Pokemon? Maybe not, but its fun to try.**

**Destiny: What's so special about them? *Frowns in confusion***

**Erika: THEY'RE FREAKING-**

**Me: SHHH! DON'T RUIN IT! *Covers her mouth with hand***

**Destiny: Critiques welcome and please review if you want to see me beat Red.**

**Me: Since when did I promise that?! But that's an interesting idea!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Me: *Hiding behind an Aegislash* Hello...I'm back...**

**Erika: Why are you behind that?**

**Me: For two reasons. One, the two Pokemon are...um...pretty much OP...**

**Erika: Got that right.**

**Me: Two, this is a super short chapter. And I was pretty tired while writing this so it will seem rushed and cruddy. Don't kill me! *squeaks and disappears behind Aegislash***

**Erika: Does that leave me to do the disclaimer? *Red walks in* Oh, Red, do the disclaimer! Bye!**

**Red: ...? Nyx doesn't own Pokemon. If she did, I would have already committed suicide...**

* * *

I looked at my two childhood friends. in confusion. There was nothing special about them-at least that I knew of. The smaller Pokemon, a small white humanoid creature that had a hat-like yellow structure on its head. The yellow structure was shaped like the top half of a star, elongating into three different points, blue tassels hanging from each of them.

The big one looked like a cross between a falcon and a dragon. It had a sleek body, the top half white and the lower half a deep blue, matching its arms and claws. Its slim, jet-like wings enabled it to hover in the sky. Despite the serious look on its blue and white face, a kind twinkle was present in its narrow crimson eyes.

I laid a hand on each Pokemon. "Huh? What do you mean?" Erika had an exasperated look on her face. "They are Jirachi and Latios!" "How does that make them special?" I was seriously bewildered now. Erika looked like she was going to faint. I crossed my arms, expecting her to answer. She sighed and looked at Jirachi and Latios one more time, as if confirming that they were real before taking a deep breath and answering my question.

"Jirachi and Latios are known as 'Legendary Pokemon', and they are very rare. Like there's only what, around one of each legendary? Well, two at most. So legendary Pokemon are hardly seen. Most trainers never see one in their entire lives," I nodded before turning to them. They looked at me with a both somewhat sheepish and judgmental looks on their faces, as if expecting me to whip out two Master Balls and catch them at once. Like that would ever happen. My brain was still trying to process the information that had just been given to me.

"Well...Legendary or non-legendary, I have no wish to catch them. One, they're free spirits and we're more like friends. Two, I'm pretty happy with my team right now. No offense," Jirachi smiled at me, sending a telepathic message. _That's my girl!_

"Jirachi, I need your help. My friend Clara is badly injured and she's unconscious. I wish...I wish that she could be healed and she would wake up." The Pokemon nodded before glowing. After a few seconds, the light radiating from its body died down and it turned to me, smiling brightly. _OK! All done!_

I gently patted it. Latios, being too big to go into the center waited outside in the garden while Erika, Jirachi and I walked back into the trainer wards, stopping at ward number 13. Clara's eyes were half open, and she seemed dazed. The amazing thing was, the deep gash on her forehead had faded to a barely noticeable scar and there were no other wounds present on the rest of her body. She sat up sleepily, looking around the room. "What happened?"

I gulped. "It's a long story. Basically...after your Hydreigon attacked us, you and I were knocked out, and I woke up first. So I got my friend Jirachi here-" The friendly yellow and white Pokemon waved at her and she gasped in shock upon seeing the ultra-rare Wish-making Legendary. "-To wake you up and heal you." She threw her arms around me, squashing me into a nearby wall. I winced as my head made contact with the hard wooden surface and the headache started again. She let go at once. "Sorry! But how about your injuries?" Jirachi mumbled something in my head like _Oops, forgot about yours_ and glowed again. Immediately, the throbbing stopped and I tore of the bandage. Just then, Clara seemed to realize something. She looked around the room and felt for her Poke Balls. When she saw an empty one, she turned to me, panicked.

"H-Hydreigon! Where's my Hydreigon?!" She demanded. "I don't know..." She got out of the bed and walked around, looking for Nurse Joy. Thankfully, the nurse decided to poke her head in at that exact time. As she watched us, a worried look crossed over her face. "What happened..." She trailed off when she saw Jirachi floating behind me. Her eyebrows raised in shock and confusion but decided not to comment. "I see. What is Clara doing?" I was impressed with how she maintained her usual tranquil expression and her calm, steady voice seemed to wash over us.

I explained it to her. "Clara, Hydreigon is on..." Before she could finish, the panicked redhead lightly grabbed Nurse Joy's shoulders. "Where is he?!" She then realized what she was doing and turned red. She quickly let go and apologized. "So sorry!" Nurse Joy waved it off. "It's nothing. Your Hydreigon has gone on a rampage in Dewford City. The residents have been evacuated to the emergency shelters. The Pokemon Center is surrounded by a Protect by Chansey, so we're safe-at least for the time being."

I didn't protest when I felt my friend slip her arms around me, sobbing. As I gently returned the comforting embrace, I felt it-all the regret and pain she was feeling. I didn't say anything to her-No words would be able do describe what she was going through. Words of assurance sounded like an empty and hollow promise. Instead, I remained silent, letting her stay there for as long as she wanted. Finally, she turned away, her large green eyes tinted red from crying. I wordlessly offered her a tissue and she sniffled, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. Then, newfound resolve filled her eyes. "I'm going to stop him. Nurse Joy, where did Hydreigon go?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure myself." I grabbed Clara's hand and dragged her outside, mounting Latios who understood the situation immediately. He took off like a jet. I could barely cling on to his back and Clara didn't seem to fare any better. Jirachi just floated above us. I scanned the wide streets, noticing some fallen debris. "There Latios! Follow the damage!" He wheeled around, taking off in the direction I had pointed him in. Did I mention that while Latios was a good flier, he wasn't very skilled in giving comfortable rides? "Hey, slow down! We need to see the streets!" The wing stung my eyes as I felt tears prick in the corners. Latios was going too fast for me too notice the big destructive three-headed dragon. Gradually, I felt him start to slow and the thick blurred stripes forming structures around me. I blinked my eyes rapidly in order to get rid of the tears before scanning the ground.

Suddenly, I saw a huge blue comet-like energy being hurled out way. I looked down and noticed the Pokemon firing attacks at random, not caring who or what was in its way. I gulped and looked up quickly. It was then I decided to check my Pokedex. _Hydreigon, the brutal Pokemon. __It responds to movement by attacking. This scary, three-headed Pokémon devours everything in its path!_ I gasped. I heard Latios shout_ Hold tight!_ and I barely had time to scramble and wrap my arms tightly around his neck before he made another sharp turn, dodging the attacks in the way. Unfortunately, Clara wasn't so lucky.

On the fourth attack, she lost her balance and slipped off to the side, screaming. My natural reflexes from training on kicked in and my hand shot out, grabbing hers. I leaned over, one arm still around Latios for security before meeting her gaze. Utter shock and terror filled her eyes. Slowly, I pulled her back on board. Latios tilted down and I suddenly felt nauseous. When Clara was the one looking out for debris and my eyes were focused on the sky, it was fine. But now that we were almost vertical to the ground and we were so high up, I felt like I was going to vomit.

Did I mention that I'm scared of heights? So this was utterly terrifying!

And Erika wasn't helping. She apparently loved heights and loved going fast _in the sky. _The wind blew her hair across her face and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She raised a fist to the air and whooped in joy. "WOO-HOO!" She rode the jet-plane like Pokemon with ease, one hand loosely placed on Latios' neck for balance. I yelled out a question and the words were almost drowned out by wind. "How can you be so relaxed?"

"My parents owned a Skarmory! I used to ride it every day when I was little!" I rolled my eyes and focused on keeping my gaze averted from the ground.

I gritted my teeth as Latios descended quickly. I closed my eyes, trying to blank everything out. Jirachi's voice echoed in my mind. _You know, if you're really that scared, you could have just had me teleport you down!_ I glared at the humanoid Pokemon as it smirked back at me. _Well smartypants, why didn't you tell me earlier?_

_It's fun watching you be scared~! _Came the cheerful reply.

_You little... _I growled at Jirachi who was doubling over in fits of laughter.

"All right you two, stop it," Erika said as we landed gently behind a building- presumably for cover. But that didn't help for long. A blast of energy blew the building to smithereens, making the ground tremble ever so slightly. Erika slowly backed away and I just stayed on Latios' back, letting him dodge the attacks. Perhaps, since Hydreigon was her Pokemon, Clara was the bravest out of all of us. Fear was still present in her eyes, but she still walked forward to face the rampaging Pokemon. Those slanted black eyes glared at her, a wild look on all three faces, eyes filled with hatred and fury and most frighteningly... a lust for revenge. However, Clara stood her ground, staring straight into Hydreigon's eyes. She spoke slowly and deliberately, a calm tone to her words.

"Hydreigon."

* * *

**See what I mean by short and horrible? PLEASE DON'T FREAK OUT AT JIRACHI AND LATIOS! PLEASE! They are Destiny's friends and she will hardly be using them. Only in dire situations like this one. **

**Red: When am I back?**

**Me: Soon! :3**

**Red: Oh no...*Goes into my computer and tries to delete story***

**Me: OH NO YOU DON'T! LATIOS! LUSTER PURGE!  
**

**Latios: OK. *Attacks Red***

**Red: Uhh... pretty stars*faints***

**Me: Critiques welcome and please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi! I'm back! :) And another chapter! Even though its all short and crappy and weird and-**

**Red: *Sighs* How much sugar did you have?**

**Me: None. I am naturally this hyper.**

**Red: ... THE HORROR! *Runs away screaming***

**Me: Huh. What happened to him? Anyway this chapter is entirely in Clara's POV. Hydreigon IS her Pokemon after all :) *teleports Red back* Do the disclaimer!  
**

**Red: Nyx does not own Pokemon... only her OCs, which are annoying little brats...**

**Destiny: What did you just say?**

**Red: Uh oh.**

* * *

I looked into his eyes, and for a moment, I could see it. Everything I had done to made him feel this way. My mouth suddenly went dry. Those emotions washed over me. Pain, hatred and Jealousy. Every emotion so strong that it sent me reeling like an unknown force. The most horrible thing was, I was the cause of all of this. Every. Single. Thing. Why Hydreigon was so angry at me. I knew why he was like that. Memory after memory came back to me. It was painful, and this time, I was looking at it from Hydreigon's point of view.

Pain. The first emotion that I had felt, radiating from his body. I had done so much to cause it. The memories I recalled; it was just too strong, almost disconcerting. I could hear Destiny and Erika in the background, shouting for me to come back to Latios and Jirachi. To safety. But I couldn't. I just had to do this myself.

* * *

_I-Well, the Clara in this flashback- tossed a Poke Ball into the air, a confident smirk on her face. Blastoise came out. The giant blue turtle-like Pokemon that had always been her partner. Though cocky, he was talented, skilled in everything, and defeated Pokemon effortlessly. So it was a natural choice that she chose him. Cherubi, well, at that time he still refused to listen to me-her-whatever, and Hydreigon, a Zweilous at that time, was so quiet and agreeable that he was easily forgettable. I always kind of forgot that he was there when I battled. Only Blastoise, or Cherubi once he had started listening. Pangs of regret hit me. _

_"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!" The blue sphere collided into the opposing Seviper, and it fainted immediately. I remember making a huge fuss of him, praising his strength. _

_And then when I was traveling, that was another story completely. I set down three bowls of food for each Pokemon, and while Cherubi would make everything into a super-dramatic event, forcing me to pay attention to him and Blastoise was- I have to admit, I was a little biased when before- my absolute favourite as he was my first Pokemon, Zweilous would just withdraw quietly into the shadows, saying nothing, just silently finishing his food. _

_I never knew, under that laid-back demeanor, under his thick coat of shaggy fur, there was a heart. One that desired and yearned love and attention-just like all other Pokemon. Under the fur, there were eyes that glittered with the hope of one day being accepted as a friend, not just any old Pokemon to his Trainer. Unfortunately, his personality was just too quiet, too tolerant, that I never really saw him as anything other than...a Pokemon which I owned. I felt terrible at this point. Pokemon and Trainers were supposed to be friends, to trust, care and serve each other, but for the two of us, it was more of a master-servant relationship. I wasn't proud of the old me, not at all._

* * *

"Clara!" Erika shouted. The bubbly, slightly obnoxious redhead had grown a little more friendly to me, and I could handle that. After all, friends were good, right? Friends, like me and Hydreigon were supposed to be. I would _not_ stop until I was done, able to change Hydreigon. But that seemed so impossible to do, with all the tension that had unknowingly built up between us.

Heh. I could be more stubborn than Destiny sometimes. I thrust my arms out. "Hydreigon! Please stop! I'm sorry!" The blue dragon paused for a moment and for a split-second, the ridiculously irrational part of me lit up with hope, hope that Hydreigon somewhat understood what I was talking about. But it seemed that my words were useless. Hydreigon had merely been distracted by my voice. I remembered when he was still a little Deino.

He wasn't a ruthless destruction machine like he was now. He was so gentle and sweet, whenever I used him- if I used him, that is- people would jokingly ask if I was sure it was a Deino. I had always laughed it all off. But now, seeing Hydreigon live up to his Pokedex entry in the most terrifying way possible, I would rather him be his usual mild self.

I braced myself for pain as a huge ball of energy headed towards me, closing my eyes. However, the impact never came. I opened my eyes to see Destiny and Latios. "Latios! Meet Hydreigon's attacks, OK?" She commanded. The Legendary Pokemon nodded. I was still amazed by how Destiny managed to befriend not just one, but _two _powerful Legendaries. Jirachi spoke to Destiny who translated it out loud. "Jirachi says that you could just wish!"

"No thanks! I want to make the bond between us true!" I yelled back. Erika looked at me like I was crazy while Destiny said nothing. She just glanced at me, like, _I can't stop you anyway, so go for it. _I gave her a thumbs up before focusing back on the issue at hand. "Hydreigon! PLEASE!" I screamed at him. A cold feeling suddenly swept over me as the next feeling hit me. Hatred. If that was even possible, the memories were even worse.

Memories of me scolding the Pokemon when he lost a battle, memories of me leaving him out, memories of everything that I did wrong, bottled up into one single feeling, pure, raw hate, every muscle in his body screaming it. If it wasn't for Latios who was hurling attacks at Hydreigon's Hyper Beams and Dragon Pulses, and Destiny using her sharp eyes to command the Eon Pokemon to dodge, I would probably have been dead by now. And this wasn't going to last for very long. I had to do it _fast. _Latios couldn't fend them off forever. And Jirachi was helping by healing anyone that was hurt. It didn't want to accidentally unleash its wish power.

"Hydreigon, I admit what I did was wrong. But what you're doing is wrong too! Can't we just-" I was cut off by a mighty roar that nearly broke my eardrums. My ears were ringing so much that I could hardly continue. I saw a dark shape circling around in the sky. Destiny bit her lip and was sweating, but she kept her eyes trained off the ground. Finally, she forced herself to look at me. "Do we attack him?" She looked so nauseous, she could hardly get the words out. I shook my head. Attacking him wasn't going to help one bit. It would just make him hate us even more. Destiny nodded and went back to commanding her friend to prevent any more attacks from reaching its target.

Hydreigon snarled at me, a savage, distorted sound that broke my heart. The monster in front of me was not the little Deino I owned. But I was sure that kind, amiable Hydreigon was down there somewhere. All I had to do was reach out to him.

But that was easier said than done.

Hydreigon huffed and turned away from me, zooming through the streets. In one desperate attempt, I lunged forward and clawed at his back. I managed to clutch hold of some of his black hair, yanking myself up. If Latios was uncomfortable, Hydreigon was ten times worse. He did everything in his power to get me off. He twisted, spun and shook about violently, but I stayed latched onto him. I felt relieved. At least I was safe from attacks on his back- whaaaat?! One of his smaller heads on his arms rotated an entire three hundred and sixty degrees, a cannon-like ball forming.

I got blasted backwards and screamed as I fell towards the ground. Suddenly, I felt myself being levitated midair. Latios' eyes glowed blue, like the energy that surrounded me. Suddenly, Destiny shouted something to Erika, jumping off his back. My eyes were wide. She would surely break some bones or something, wouldn't she? Instead, she left me staring in amazement as she landed lightly on her feet, unscathed. "How did you..."

"Mountain training..."

"Oh."

Only Erika was on Latios now, and I trusted her to keep an eye out for attacks. Destiny turned towards me. "You ready?" I tilted my head, confused. "Ready for what- DESTINY!" I screamed as she grabbed me and zoomed forward onto one of Hydreigon's heads. She gave it an expert punch, not enough to cause it bad pain but enough to knock it out temporarily. I did _not _want to know where she even got those ninja skills from. Maybe she was a ninja.

The next emotion. Jealously. More hurtful memories. When I used Blastoise instead of him so many times. And then Jirachi made things even worse by making me understand the tiniest details, like understanding Pokemon speech.

I didn't notice the shake of the Poke Ball before Brawly and I battled. I didn't understand when Blastoise criticized Zweilous for being weak all the time. I didn't notice _anything. _Even Cherubi was given a second chance when it learned to be more obedient. And Zweilous? Nothing but another mere creature in existence. And the times it tried to show that it wanted to battle, I ignored it. Didn't understand what it was trying to tell me. Used Blastoise instead.

Why was I such a stupid person back then?! I could only try to convince him now.

"Hydreigon, I was an idiot. But can we just get along? Please?" I stared straight at the Pokemon, who tilted its head. The head that Destiny had punched had recovered, and all three of his heads, turned to each to each other, considering. I clasped my hands together, praying that he would understand that I loved him as much as any other Pokemon I owned- and would ever own.

I opened my eyes, looking at him with pleading eyes again. Destiny was at the side, ready to leap into action if I needed help. For a moment, I saw his muscles relaxed, and I almost could breathe a sigh of relief-

-But then the opposite happened. Hydreigon roared and surged straight towards me again, a monstrous red beam in its mouth.

* * *

**Hydreigon is still pissed...and honestly I can't blame him. Clara was pretty mean.**

**Clara: I HEARD THAT!  
**

**Destiny: I have ninja skills?**

**Me: You spend all the time in the trees, of course you have them.**

**Destiny: I have a fear of heights!**

**Me: Oh, that. You developed it when you were kidnapped by Team Rocket. You were high up and it was associated with dark memories...**

**Destiny: Makes sense. Anyway dear readers, critiques are welcome and please review. *Epicly fails at her infamous puppy dog eyes***


	26. Chapter 26

**And...back to the usual length! Finally! *Takes a look at word count* Er, maybe not...this is the longest chapter yet. This also marks the end of the Zweilous/Hydreigon Saga.**

**Clara: Good or bad?  
**

**Me: Meh.**

**Clara: *Glares***

**Me: *Glares back* I have Hydreigon, Blastoise and Cherubi. So do the disclaimer.**

**Clara: *Sighs* Fine...Nyx does not own anything but her OCs. Unfortunately that also means me...**

* * *

Hydreigon's POV:

Hatred consumed my vision. The girl standing in front of me was now a terrible monster, and I had to get rid of her. It was the only way. She dies, I lived. What good had she done me anyway? I charged up another Hyper Beam and launched it at her, but she managed to roll to the ground just in time, only the tips of her dark red hair being singed by the power of the blast. I growled at her. She had tears in her eyes and kept saying meaningless things to me.

Well, fancy speech won't get her anywhere. She'll still be utterly destroyed, along with those friends of hers and the entire city. I had to recharge for a few moments, and she took this chance to speak more gibberish to me. Go away. You're no owner of mine! Actually, maybe you are.

An _owner_ is someone who catches a Pokemon and treat them like they're on two different levels completely. They're the master. You're the slave. You have no choice but to do as they say. Defy them, and you're punished. You're not a living, breathing creature with feelings to them. You're simply a piece of equipment that they use to accomplish their silly goals. Becoming a champion Coordinator or Trainer. Taking all the glory for themselves, like _It was all thanks to my hard work!_

A _friend_ is someone who doesn't care about what type of Pokemon you are, or the personality. They see you as their equals, and they're willing to do anything to gain your trust. They don't get offended when you're mean to them. You are a part of them, standing proudly by their side, working together _as a team_ to win. And it's not just all about winning to. A _friend_ would take time out of their training schedule to play and relax with their Pokemon. They understand who we are. And there's the sense of glory and achievement when you finally do it. The words coming out of a friend's mouth wouldn't be _me._ It would be _us._ They give us credit as we did it together.

Honestly? I tried. I tried my best. But it was never enough. I was too meek and shy to voice my opinions, my feelings. And when I finally gathered up the courage, she _treated me like air._ She just ignored me. She didn't even stop Blastoise when he bullied me. She didn't understand Pokemon Language, sure, but surely she could tell by the tone what was going on? I HATE HER! Her and her stupid Blastoise both! I. Despise. Them!

Or maybe I shouldn't kill them. Maybe I should give them a taste of their own medicine. I'll be their master. They will be my _slaves._ Why give them the sweet relief of death? Maybe such horrible people don't deserve such an end. I will make them feel pain, raw and pure, like what they did to me. I charged up yet another attack when she was just getting up,too dazed to dodge. It wouldn't kill her. More like put her in great pain. I snickered at the thought. The great and powerful trainer writhing in agony. I would have killed to see that scene. Unfortunately, due to those little brat friends of hers, I never got the chance to see just that.

She screamed as the Dragon Pulse attack headed towards her. Unfortunately, at the last moment, she was yanked out of the way by an unseen force. She landed a few feet away. The girl with black hair that knocked my head out- Destiny, I think- was communicating with Latios using darn telepathy. The regal legendary was in the air, its eyes glowing blue as it used its Psychic attack to save Clara. I snapped at it tersely, not caring that it was a legendary or that it was stronger than me. _What do you think you were doing? And why are you on their side?!_

_Because Destiny is my friend and I trust her judgment. Besides, anyone can see that you're the one rampaging and destroying half the city. I usually mind my own business, but when the situation is this dire, I will not hesitate to attack even a fellow Pokemon if he is blinded by anger!_ He replied in a calm but firm voice. _Then you are no comrade of mine!_ I shouted, charging up a Hyper Beam. Latios only too gladly obliged, his eyes glowing and a Dragon Pulse forming.

"STOP!" The voice distracted both of us, and the attacks ended up fizzling out to nothing. Destiny was glaring at Latios. "You know better than to attack a Pokemon we're trying to befriend, Latios!" The Eon Pokemon bowed its head in apology before replying. _I am sorry, but I cannot let this rouge Pokemon cause any more destruction than it already has!_ "Clara will find a way to stop it! I'm sure of that!" Was all she said before turning to me.

"Hydreigon, I can gather that you and Clara have a rocky relationship and you have an unhappy past-" _Wow, how did she know that?_ I thought sarcastically, "But you have to know in the time I've known her, she's been nothing but good to her Pokemon! She has changed from last time! And I'm not good at speeches, but whatever! Everyone deserves a second chance, Hydreigon- and Clara is no exception! Can't you see that?!" The other redhead on top of Latios spoke up as well. I think her name was Erika.

"Yeah! Like with me and Clara. We were... um, not on good terms when Destiny first introduced us, but we're improving! Can't you just forget about all the bad times and focus more on the good memories? Does that get through your _thick skulls?!"_ Both Clara and Destiny flinched at her manner of speaking. I roared again. _Forget? The bad memories? After all she's done to me, you just want me to FORGET THEM?!_ I felt my mouths heating up with flames but unfortunately, that pesky Latios stopped it cold and exploded it with Psychic.

Then, Clara stepped forward. "Hydreigon," she started, but I turned my heads away. She said it again, in such a authoritative and firm tone, I was forced to listen to her. "_Hydreigon."_ I glared at her, waiting for her to continue another one of her silly speeches. "Look into my eyes." Well,no harm in that, right? I stared into her forest green eyes, searching for all the traces of deception and malice and cold that I had always imagined. To my shock, there were none. The only emotions I could see in those wide eyes were worry, desperation and a yearn for me to give her another chance. Uneasy, I flew back from her a little, but she just stepped forward.

"Erika and Destiny are right." _No, they are NOT._ "Cant you just give me a second chance? Remember all the good memories? Like, like-" _See, there are none! That's the whole point of me doing this! I underwent this personality change BECAUSE of her!_ However, her next statement stopped me cold. "Like the time-the time we f-first met? Don't you remember that?" I saw it flashing in front of my eyes again. Latios was forcing me to relive it.

* * *

_It was a rainy day. But not just any ordinary rainy day. It was literally pouring. Sheets of opaque rain pounded on the soft earth. A soaked Deino walked around, sneezing. It was cold and dark, and he was hungry. He felt utterly miserable. If he could just find some nice warm shelter for the night and maybe some food, he would gladly settle down. But he had gotten lost in the dense forest. All the trees looked the same now, and he was pretty sure he was walking in circles._

_Finally, he spotted an Oran Berry Tree. The drooping spike on his head perked up at once. He had been walking almost all day and night, and this tree was overflowing with berries. He was pretty sure it was the only source of food for a long way. He gathered some leaves and molded them roughly into a basket, filling them with as many berries as possible. Soon, the basket was full and the tree was nearly bare. Happily, he continued on his way._

_He was about to eat a berry when a group of devious Pawniard, too lazy to look for their own food suddenly swooped down from a tree and grabbed the basket, slipping away, their laughs fading into the night. Desperately, he ran after them, trying to get his food back. However, the Pawniard was too fast and hid under the cover of the dark shadows. Now, he was even more lost than before. He walked around, looking for somewhere to stay._

_His face lit up as he noticed a cave up ahead that looked warm and snug. He ambled forward and into the cave, so tired that he immediately closed his eyes and fell into his much-needed sleep, hoping that nothing would go wrong this time. Of course, he was wrong._

_A group of Conkeldurr prodded him harshly, causing him to wake up. When he noticed his surroundings, he started to run but was pinned to the ground, relentless attacks raining upon him. He weakly tried to attack back with Dragon Pulse, but they hardly flinched at the blows. Finally, they tossed him out of the cave, and he landed roughly on the muddy ground, his eyes immediately sliding close. He only had drank a little water that day, and he hadn't eaten anything. There were multiple wounds on his body. Was he left to die? Was this cruel fate, to die so young? That was his last thought as he passed out, the rain mercilessly pounding down on his fur..._

_He awoke again, feeling around. He had no idea where he was. It was warm and comfortable, and he thought he caught a glimpse of white. Had he died and gone to heaven already? Probably. But he couldn't think much. He was so drowsy that he gave in to the urge to sleep again..._

_He woke up with a start, getting a good look at his surroundings. He was in some type of room, and he was on some rectangular device with a comfortable fabric on it. His fur was dry and mud-free and there was a heaping bowl of food and some water nearby. A girl was seated next to his bed, and she smiled. She had dark red hair and green eyes. She wore a white shirt and jeans. "You OK?" The Deino nodded happily and tucked in to his meal. _

_"I'm Clara. Nice to meet you Deino! I hope you recover soon! You were in pretty bad shape when I found you, poor thing," She talked to him gently. So she was the one who brought him here? Well that explains the white he saw. And it's nice that he wasn't dead. The food was delicious. He thanked her for saving me and she smiled. She couldn't understand what he said, but she somehow managed to interpret it correctly. "No prob!"_

_For the next two weeks, she remained by his bedside while he healed. She was amazingly nice to him- even though he was just a wild Pokemon. She made sure that he had plenty to eat and drink, helped change his bandages and kept him company. She talked all about herself. She was going on a journey with her Squirtle to become a Pokemon Master. When he didn't understand, she just laughed and explained it to him._

_A Pokemon Trainer took part in non-fatal battles with other Pokemon. It sounded fun- if you didn't get seriously hurt._ _When the Deino finally healed, she took him back to the forest where he lived in. She smiled. "Don't get hurt again, OK?" With that, she ruffled his fur and walked off. He frowned. He would miss her! What if I got into trouble again? _

_She looked behind her to see the little Deino walking after her. "Huh? Deino?" It cried out its name. "You wanna go with me?" He nodded. Grinning, Clara took out a Poke Ball. Deino happily nudged the button with his nose, capturing himself._

_"I hope we can be great friends someday, Deino!"_

* * *

_She still abandoned me!_ I said, but I felt a little bubble of warmth and happiness push its way up inside me. Clara kept her head bowed. _You don't deserve to be a trainer,_ I told her, knowing full well that she couldn't understand it. But because of that Destiny girl and Latios, she nodded. I was surprised. "You're right," She said, "I don't deserve to be one. Not after all I've done to you. So here." She threw a card on the ground. Her trainer ID. "Destroy it."

Immediately, a ball of energy eagerly formed in my mouth, but I paused when I saw something distinct. A faded burn mark, covering a good portion of the card. Latios searched my mind for that particular memory, making it flash in front of my eyes,

* * *

_"Ah!" Clara cried as her Pokemon landed on the ground, fainted. "Wartortle, are you OK?" The Pokemon nodded weakly. She had a concerned look on her face as she returned Wartortle to his Poke Ball. "Here, Wartortle. You deserve a good rest." Then, she threw her next Poke Ball. "Deino!"_

_The small dragon popped out. "Dei!" Then, he saw his opponent; a strong Doublade. He backed away a little. "Don't be scared, Deino!" The little Pokemon nodded and stood its ground._

_"Use Dragon Pulse!" A stream of greenish energy hit the twin ghost swords, but it merely blinked. "Not good! One more time!" Deino tried again and again, but Doublade had only taken a little damage. In fact, Deino was the one that was now exhausted. He breathed heavily as he let forth yet another blast of energy._

_"Iron Head!" The Doublade slammed into Deino, sending him flying. Deino had taken a lot of damage just from a single attack. Clara's forehead creased in worry. "Can you continue?" Deino crawled back up in response. He psyched himself up for a Dragon Rush but before he could make contact, an Aerial Ace sent him into a nearby wall. His body was aching, and it seemed impossible to get up. He made a pathetic attempt to get up but fell back on his side again._

_The trainer on the other side of the field, a girl with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and deep black eyes smirked. "Looks like its game over for you," She stated coldly. Clara made a strange, anxious noise at the back of her throat as she looked over to her hurt Pokemon. "Deino, it's OK...Deino?" She exclaimed as the dual type Dragon glowed. "Yes! He's evolving!" The other trainer growled. "Of all the things that could happen, it evolved..."_

_"Zweilous!" Now, Deino had two heads and two wings. It had two broad fuchsia bands on its blue belly and it still had the black fur covering his heads and neck. "Great job Dei-um, Zweilous!" Clara cheered, Zweilous unleashed a double stream of flames towards Doublade, the super-effective move causing a lot of damage. "And you learned Flamethrower! You're awesome!" Zweilous growled and launched another attack._

_Doublade had swirls in its eyes as it sank to the ground. Clara ran over to hug her newly-evolved Pokemon. Suddenly, just at the same time Clara's trainer ID dropped out of her pocket, Zweilous's new power went a little out of control and flames surrounded the both of them for a few seconds. A spark of fire landed on the card, scorching it. Zweilous immediately apologized. "Zwei! Zwei!" Clara shook her head. "It's OK, Zweilous."_

* * *

I still hadn't attacked and I didn't know why. _She actually didn't replace it?! _I growled at her, the ball still in my mouth, ready to launch anytime. _"Do you understand if I..." _I stared at Latios, who nodded. Then, I roared again. _"But why?! Why am I asking you to understand? I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF! I HAVE THE URGE TO STOP ALL OF THIS EVEN THOUGH SHE DID ALL THIS TO ME!"_

_"Maybe it's because you still feel loyal to her. You respect all the things she's done for you. She saved you from death," _Jirachi offered.

"Please, Hydreigon. Let's make a fresh start together? Make even more memories on our journey?" Clara's voice was sincere. I hesitated, looking at the card on the ground before looking at her. Finally, I made a decision.

I bit down on the Dragon Pulse, causing it to disappear. Clara threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much, Hydreigon!"

* * *

Destiny's POV:

I smiled as I looked at the two reunite. But my mind was focused on one problem. When Latios made Hydreigon see that last memory, he had accidentally used a little too much, making everyone see it. And that girl... she was familiar...

_Could it be?_

* * *

**Yup, after eternity, I finally do things from a Pokemon's POV. Hope you enjoyed it. And as for the little Destiny part at the end... It's part of the plot later on. It is important. Yes, important. And... drum roll please...wait for it...**

**Red: Get on with it.**

**Me: Red is going to be BACK next chapter! Whee!**

**Red: Oh, great. Not. Emo freak again?  
**

**Me: I don't know~**

**Red: *Rolls eyes* And do I have to do this?  
**

**Me: Yes!**

**Red: Critiques are welcome and please review...**

**Me: Even though it sucks...bye anyway!**


	27. Chapter 27

**I AM BACK! YAY!**

**Red: *Squints at me before walking off***

**Me: Huh?**

**Destiny: *Does the same thing***

**Me: What is going on?**

**Erika: Your glasses... they...er...**

**Me: *Facepalms* I changed them because my degree went up. Anyway please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Red's POV:

I walked along the busy streets of Violet City. If I knew Destiny, that girl would have _at least _journeyed through Kanto. It had been like, three months already! I decided to visit the Violet City Gym first. Maybe Falkner would give me some clues if she had beaten him. I approached the tall, spiraling building and knocked. After about a minute, a young man with navy hair covering one of his eyes and black-blue eyes emerged, his features shocked when he saw me.

"Red?!" He exclaimed. I had beaten him previously when I was traveling in Johto. Besides, I was well-known as Kanto's Champion...until I decided to retreat to for further training. Falkner smiled when he saw me. "Nice to see you again. What brings you here?"

I shrugged. "Looking for someone," I replied in as little words as possible in my usual cold tone. The Gym Leader invited me in. Now, we were at the rooftop battlefield, where his Pidgeot was flying around freely in circles. "So who are you looking for?" Hopefully he knew. Please, please say that she came here. "Have you battled a girl called Destiny?" The man thought hard for a while before his eyes lit up in recognition. I sighed in relief.

"Destiny...she beat me before. Now that you mentioned it, isn't Destiny the name of the girl who won the Johto League?" I stared at him. She. Won. The. Johto. League. _Wow. _And she was still ten. She was freaking younger than me and she managed to win the Johto League! I could argue that it could have been someone else named Destiny, but on the other hand Destiny was already a pretty uncommon name. Hm. I would have to watch this year's Johto League tonight.

Pikachu and Helioptile were on my shoulders. Interested, Falkner reached out to pet them. Pikachu seemed to enjoy the fuss and cooed its name happily, wanting more. Meanwhile, Helioptile shrank back at Falkner's touch. He could be really shy sometimes around strangers. Falkner smiled. "Didn't see that Pokemon before. A Helioptile?" I nodded. Upon seeing that I seemed to get along with him, Helioptile nervously stuck its head out. "You've changed a lot in five years," He said while gently stroking the little cherry-red lizard. I offered him a grim half-smile.

"Nice shiny there. And how are you related to this Destiny person?" Falkner asked. "Long story. Thanks Falkner," I said, walking off. "See ya!" He called after me. I raised my hand in acknowledgment before exiting the arena. As it was late afternoon when Charizard had arrived in Violet City, I decided to get a room in the Pokemon Center. _Destiny had lasted through Kanto and Johto, _I reassured myself before heading in the general direction of the Center.

* * *

I walked up to Nurse Joy, said hello and threw some money on the counter. I _hope _I packed enough money for this trip, at least. "A room, please," I said. She nodded, rifled through the drawers and took out a blue-tagged key and handed it to me. She smiled her usual cheery smile. "Have a nice evening!" I thanked her politely and walked off to the cafeteria. The night stay included meals, and I had yet to eat dinner. Just as I had settled down, someone recognized me.

"Hey, isn't that _Red?" _Immediately, everyone in the Pokemon Center gasped and looked to me, where I merely pushed my cap down to hide my eyes. Pikachu looked up from his bowl of Pokemon food, clearly annoyed with them.

"Oh my Arceus, it's actually _him? _The champion of Kanto at, what? Eleven?!"

"I heard he's really strong! No one's ever beat him before!"

"Yeah, I wonder where he went to after he traveled Kanto and Johto. He just disappeared..."

"Who cares! He's right here in Violet City!" A bunch of annoying children surrounded me, their eyes filled with awe. A few of these squirts even had the nerve to ask me for an autograph when I was about to eat. My right eye uncontrollably started twitching in an attempt to restrain myself from commanding Pikachu to just give them a Thunder to their face. Pikachu was just silently, slowly picking up a few pellets of food, ignoring the crowd squealing at him. Finally, both of us couldn't stand it any longer.

"Shut UP!" I yelled, driving my knife into the wooden table. Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity as it unleashed a small bolt of lightning about 30% the usual power of his usual Thunder attacks. It wasn't enough to fatally injure anyone, but it was enough to surprise them into jumping back. Now, where they once stood, there was a charred circle of wooden tiles, about a couple meters wide in diameter, smoke sizzling from where the attack had landed. Everyone stared at me in both fright and respect, but they kept their distance. "Stay. Back," I hissed as I began to eat dinner, satisfied that no one was interrupting me anymore.

The food, especially the juicy steak tasted foreign to my mouth. After surviving on berries, plants and _some _small bird meat for five years, I had forgotten what actual meat was like. It was just...yum. I finished the meal in no time, paid Nurse Joy some more money for the damages done to both the table and the floor before retiring to my room. There, I yanked off my shoes, changed into a more comfortable set of clothes, brushed my teeth and plunked myself down on the bed.

"Ah," I said in contentment as I felt the soft fabric tickle my skin lightly. I opened my new laptop that I had bought before coming here-you know, to keep up with the times. My old one was about ten years old and it was _really _slow and clunky.

I went to YouTube and typed in "2204 Johto League". Instantly, several links popped up. I clicked on the one that said "2204 Johto League, Final Battle: Frieda VS Destiny". There, I saw a large stadium and two trainers standing at the opposite ends. One was a tall girl, about 13 years old, with light blond hair, dark gray eyes and tanned skin. She wore a white blouse, a dark red belt and black tight-fitting leggings. The announcer called her "a seasoned Trainer who has been traveling for three years".

My heart leaped when I saw the second girl. _Destiny. _Her previously almost waist-length hair had been cut, so that it only reached just above the middle of her back. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had an unreadable expression on her face. Her naturally pale complexion had darkened a little since I last saw her. She was also quite a bit taller. I was shocked when the announcer cried "She will only be battling with five Pokemon! How does this young girl expect to do this?"

He was proved so wrong. Destiny sent out Dragonair, who looked like she had grown much stronger. It dominated half the battle, effortlessly defeating three Pokemon one after another with flawless technique. I smiled at her calm, strategic style of battling. Dragonair finally got taken out by a Sheer Cold from a Lapras. Honestly, it was just enraged when the Lapras disregarded it, going on a rampage with Dragon Rush, ignoring Destiny's commands.

Then, she threw out another Poke Ball. _"That's your cue!" _Out came a- _what? _She had an Espeon! It took the Lapras down quickly with Psychic, and the other two battles were just a joke. Frieda went down so quickly, it was almost funny. And the best thing was, Espeon didn't even come close to being touched by any of their attacks. I found myself grinning as she happily accepted the huge trophy, Espeon by her side, even though it was just another video. A redhead- perhaps a friend she made?- came up to her and hugged her tightly.

So she wasn't in Johto right now. She didn't have any business there anymore, not after she won the League. So where would she be going? The choices she had was pretty obvious-she could either return to , or she could go to another region. And I would say she was in Hoenn right now. After all, it was closest to Johto. I wondered if she had caught any new Pokemon. I would go as soon as possible, I decided. Suddenly, a yawn escaped my mouth. I looked down to see Pikachu and Helioptile sleeping on the small basket provided for Pokemon that weren't that big. I smiled and crept under the covers as quietly as possible.

But first, I decided, I needed to sleep. _Hoenn, here we come!_

As I felt my eyes slide close, I whispered out a message to my adopted "sister."

"Congratulations, Destiny. I knew you would prevail."

* * *

**And done! Red chapter! Short though...but it's nice.  
**

**Red: At least I'm not an emo freak any more... **

**Destiny: I liked you more as an emo freak. And you're not very nice as a robot.**

**Red: ...**

**Me: I will leave these two to their bickering. Meanwhile, critiques welcome and please review! **


End file.
